Part 36

These preliminary remarks are elicited from a review of the life of the subject of this biographette, whose father was among the persecuted Quakers of New England, and was compelled to fly from Connecticut to New Jersey in consequence of his religious tenets. It is an inconsistency of human nature that when those who have suffered by religious persecution from superior force obtain the reigns of power, they often become the persecutors of all who will not succumb to their authority and dogmatical notions. In the biography of Charles Carroll the reader has recognised one example. Under the administration of the “Cambridge Platform,” commenced by the ecclesiastical convention of New England in 1646, and completed in 1648, a sterner policy was pursued towards the Quakers than against the Roman Catholics. On this “Platform” the municipal and legislative regulations were based for about sixty years. In 1656, the legislature of Massachusetts passed a law prohibiting every master of a vessel from bringing a Quaker into the colony under a penalty of one hundred pounds. The next year a law was passed by the same body, inflicting the most barbarous cruelties upon the members of this sect, such as cutting off their ears, boring their tongues with a hot iron, &c., unless they would desist from their mode of worship and doff their straight coats and ugly bonnets. In 1669, a law was passed banishing them on pain of death, and four of them who refused to go were executed. Some historians have endeavoured to excuse this cruelty on the ground that the Quakers provoked their persecutors by promulgating their doctrines too boldly. This reason is too far-fetched, and shrinks at once from the scrutiny of charity and justice. No apology can be found until we can convert the baser passions of human nature into virtues. By recurring to the ignorance, bigotry and fanaticism of that period, we can readily discover _why_ such a course was pursued, but this affords no healing balm for the mind of a true philanthropist. We can only regret the past and rejoice that charity has so far triumphed as to restore men to a degree of reason that has paralyzed persecution unto blood for opinion’s sake—one of the happy traits of a free and liberal government.

To avoid the penalties of the “Platform” and the dangers of Indian incursions, Aaron Hewes and Providence his wife, the parents of the subject of this narrative, took up their residence near Kingston, New Jersey, where they lived peacefully and died happily. When they crossed the Housatonic river in their flight, they were so closely pursued by the savages that Providence was severely wounded in the neck by a bullet from one of their guns.

JOSEPH HEWES, their son, was born at the residence of his parents near Kingston, in 1730. After receiving a good education in the Princeton school, he commenced his commercial apprenticeship in the city of Philadelphia. After completing this he entered into the mercantile business and soon became an enterprising and successful merchant. For several years he spent his time alternately at Philadelphia and New York, and during that period was extensively engaged in the shipping business.

He was a man of a lively disposition, penetrating mind and industrious in all his undertakings. He was fond of social intercourse, convivial parties, and sometimes joined in the dance. His figure was elegant, his manners polished, his countenance intelligent and attractive, and his whole course highly honourable and just.

At the age of thirty he located at Edenton, North Carolina, and was soon after called to a seat in the assembly of that province. He became a substantial and useful member, but made no pretensions to oratory. He was a faithful working man, a correct voter, and was uniformly in the assembly until elected to Congress.

When the revolutionary storm commenced, Mr. Hewes was among those who pledged their lives, fortunes and honours to support the cause of equal rights. He was a member of the Congress of 1774, and was placed upon the important committee appointed to report the rights of the American colonies, the manner they had been infringed and the best means of obtaining their restoration. From this fact, and from the report of the committee, we may infer that Mr. Hewes was possessed of a clear head, a sound and deliberate judgment, and understood well the principles of constitutional law and chartered privileges.

The report of this committee is a lucid and elaborate document. By referring to the declaration of independence the reader will learn the features of its first part—by referring to the instructions from the primary convention of the delegates of Pennsylvania, in the biography of James Smith, the nature of the second part will be seen. The preliminary means of obtaining redress are fully set forth in the following extract. After reciting the injuries of the mother country, the report proceeds,

“Therefore we do, for ourselves and the inhabitants of the several colonies whom we represent, firmly agree and associate under the sacred ties of virtue, honour and love of our country, as follows:

_First._ That from and after the first day of December next, we will not import into British America, from Great Britain or Ireland, any goods, wares or merchandise whatsoever, or from any other place any such goods, wares or merchandise as shall have been exported from Great Britain or Ireland; nor will we, after that day, import any East India tea from any part of the world, nor any molasses, sirups, coffee, or pimento from the British plantations or from Dominico, nor wine from Madeira or the West Indies, nor foreign indigo.

_Second._ We will neither import nor purchase any slaves imported after the first day of December next; after which time we will wholly discontinue the slave trade, and will neither be concerned in it ourselves, nor will we hire our vessels, nor sell our commodities or manufactures to those who are concerned in it.

_Third._ As a non-consumption agreement, strictly adhered to, will be an effectual security for the observation of the non-importation, we as above solemnly agree and associate, that from this day we will not purchase or use any tea imported on account of the East India Company, or any on which a duty has been or shall be paid—and from the first day of March next, we will not purchase or use any East India tea whatever; nor will we, nor shall any person for or under us, purchase or use any of these goods, wares or merchandise we have agreed not to import, which we shall know, or have cause to suspect, were imported after the first day of December, except such as come under the rules and directions of the tenth article hereafter mentioned.

_Fourth._ The earnest desire we have not to injure our fellow subjects in Great Britain, Ireland or the West Indies, induces us to suspend a non-importation until the tenth day of September, 1775, at which time, if the said acts and parts of acts of the British parliament thereinafter mentioned[F] are not repealed, we will not, directly or indirectly, export any merchandise or commodities whatsoever to Great Britain, Ireland or the West Indies, except rice to Europe.

[F] See biography of James Smith, p. 260, for the acts referred to in substance.

_Fifth._ Such as are merchants, and use the British and Irish trade, will give orders as soon as possible to their factors, agents and correspondents in Great Britain and Ireland, not to ship any goods to them on any pretence whatsoever, as they cannot be received in America; and if any merchants residing in Great Britain or Ireland shall, directly or indirectly, ship any goods, wares or merchandise for America, in order to break the said non-importation agreement, or in any manner contravene the same, on such unworthy conduct being well tested, it ought to be made public; and on the same being so done, we will not from henceforth have any commercial connexion with such merchant.

_Sixth._ That such as are owners of vessels will give positive orders to their captains or masters, not to receive on board their vessels any goods prohibited by the said non-importation agreement, on pain of immediate dismission from their service.

_Seventh._ We will use our utmost endeavours to improve the breed of sheep and increase their number to the greatest extent, and to that end we will kill them as seldom as may be, especially those of the most profitable kind, nor will we export any to the West Indies or elsewhere; and those of us who are, or may become overstocked with or can conveniently spare any sheep, will dispose of them to our neighbours, especially to the poorer sort, on moderate terms.

_Eighth._ We will in our several stations encourage frugality, economy and industry, and promote agriculture, arts and the manufactures of this country, especially that of wool, and will discountenance and discourage every species of extravagance and dissipation, especially all horse racing and all kinds of gaming, cock fighting, exhibitions of shows, plays, and other expensive diversions and entertainments, and on the death of any relation or friend, none of us or any of our families will go into any further mourning dress than a black crape or ribbon on the arm or hat for gentlemen, and a black ribbon and necklace for ladies, and we will discontinue the giving of gloves and scarfs at funerals.

_Ninth._ Such as are venders of goods and merchandise will not take the advantage of the scarcity of goods that may be occasioned by this association, but will sell the same at the rate we have been respectively accustomed to do for twelve months last past: and if any vender of goods or merchandise shall sell any such goods on higher terms, or shall in any manner or by any device whatsoever depart from this agreement, no person ought, nor will any of us deal with any such person, or his or her factor or agent at any time hereafter, for any commodity whatever.

_Tenth._ In case any merchant, trader, or other persons shall import any goods or merchandise after the first day of December, and before the first day of February next, the same ought forthwith, at the election of the owners, to be either re-shipped or delivered up to the committee of the county or town wherein they shall be imported, to be stored at the risk of the importer, until the non-importation agreement shall cease, or be sold under the direction of the committee aforesaid; and in the last mentioned case the owner or owners of such goods shall be reimbursed out of the sales, the first cost and charges, the profits, if any, to be applied towards relieving and employing such poor inhabitants of the town of Boston as are immediate sufferers by the Boston port bill, and a particular account of all goods so returned, stored or sold, to be inserted in the public paper; and if any goods or merchandise shall be imported after the said first day of February, the same ought forthwith to be sent back again without breaking any of the packages thereof.

_Eleventh._ That a committee be chosen in every county, city and town, by those who are qualified to vote for representatives in the legislature, whose business it shall be attentively to observe the conduct of all persons touching this association, and when it shall be made to appear to the satisfaction of a majority of any such committee, that any person within the limits of their appointment has violated this association, that such majority do forthwith cause the truth of the case to be published in the gazette, to the end that all such foes to the rights of British America may be publicly known and universally condemned as the enemies of American liberty, and henceforth we respectively will break off all dealings with him or her.

_Twelfth._ That the committee of correspondence in the respective colonies do frequently inspect the entries of the custom house, and inform each other from time to time of the true state thereof, and of every other material circumstance that may occur relative to this association.

_Thirteenth._ That all manufactures of this country be sold at reasonable prices, so that no under-advantage be taken of a future scarcity of goods.

_Fourteenth._ And we do further agree and resolve, that we will have no trade, commerce, dealings, or intercourse whatsoever with any colony or province in North America which shall not accede to, or which shall have hereafter violated this association, but will hold them as unworthy of the rights of freemen and inimicable to the rights of their country.

And we do solemnly bind ourselves and our constituents, under the ties aforesaid, to adhere to this association until such parts of the several acts of parliament passed since the close of the war, as impose or continue duties on tea, wine, molasses, sirups, coffee, sugar, pimento, indigo, foreign paper, glass, and painters’ colours, imported into America, and extend the powers of the admiralty courts beyond their ancient limits, deprive the American subjects of trial by jury, authorize the judge’s certificate to indemnify the prosecutor from damages that he might otherwise be liable to from a trial by his peers, require oppressive security from a claimant of ships or goods before he shall be allowed to defend his property, are repealed.

And we recommend it to the provincial conventions and to the committee in the respective colonies, to establish such further regulations as they may think proper for carrying into execution this association.”

Upon this report all the subsequent proceedings of the Congress were predicated. We may readily suppose, that nothing but the most unparalleled violations of their rights, could induce men to enter into an agreement like the above. By every true patriot it was closely adhered to.

After a session of about two months, Congress adjourned to meet the ensuing May, when Mr. Hewes again took his seat in that body and became conspicuous as a member of important committees. He was continued at this post of honour the ensuing year and had the satisfaction of hearing the discussion upon the momentous question of a separation from Great Britain. He was decidedly in favour of the measure, and when the set time arrived to strike for liberty, he sanctioned the declaration of independence by his vote and signature.

He now became a very conspicuous actor upon committees. His industry, his accurate knowledge of business, his systematic mode of performing all his duties, gained for him the esteem and admiration of all the members. It was remarked by one of his cotemporaries: “Mr. Hewes was remarkable for a devotedness to the business of this” (the secret) “committee, as ever the most industrious merchant was to his counting-house.”

He was upon the committee of claims, upon the secret committee, upon the one to consult with Washington relative to military operations, upon that of the treasury and several others. The one upon which he rendered the most important services, was that which had charge of fitting out a naval armament. The whole business eventually devolved upon him and he was, _de facto_, the first secretary of the navy. With the funds placed in his hands he fitted out with great despatch eight armed vessels. He was also very active in obtaining supplies for his own state. Indeed so deeply did he feel for his constituents in North Carolina, that he declined his appointment to Congress in 1777, and repaired to her assistance, where he remained until July, 1779, when he again resumed his seat in the national legislature. He was then worn down with fatigue and in poor health. He endeavoured to resume his active duties, but disease had already shaken his physical powers and sown the seeds of death. He continued to attend in the house, when able, until the 29th of October, when he saw its hall for the last time. On the 10th of November, his immortal spirit left its earthly tabernacle and returned to Him who gave it. His premature death was deeply lamented and sincerely mourned. Congress passed the usual resolutions and its members wore the mourning badge for thirty days. His remains were buried in Christ Church yard, Philadelphia, followed by all the members and officers of Congress, the general assembly and supreme executive council of Pennsylvania, the minister plenipotentiary of France, the military and a large concourse of other persons. The funeral ceremony was performed by the Reverend Mr. White, since Bishop White, and the chaplain of the Continental Congress. His dust reposes in peace, his name is recorded on the chart of our liberty, his fame will live until the last vestige of American history shall be blotted from the world. Not a blemish rests upon his private character or public reputation.

JOHN ADAMS.

Genuine moral courage is a sterling quality that ennobles and dignifies the man. It invigorates the mind like an impregning cloud—shedding its gentle dews on the flowers of spring. It is a heavenly spark, animating the immortal soul with the fire of divinity that illuminates the path of rectitude. It is an attribute that opposes all wrong and propels its subject right onward to the fearless performance of all right. It is based upon virtue and equity, and spurns vice in all its borrowed and delusive forms. It courts no servile favours—it fears no earthly scrutiny. No flattery can seduce it, no eclat can allure it, no bribe can purchase it, no tyrant can awe it, no misfortune can bend it, no intrigue can corrupt it, no adversity can quench it, no tortures can subdue it. Its motto is—“_Fiat justitia, ruat cœlum_.” [Let justice be done though the heavens should fall.] Without it, fame is ephemeral and renown transient. It is the saline basis of a good name that gives richness to its memory. It is a pillar of light to revolving thought, and the polar star that points to duty and leads to merit. It is the soul of reason, the essence of wisdom, and the crowning glory of mental power. It was this that influenced the signers of the declaration of independence and nerved them for the conflict.

No one among them was more fully imbued with it than JOHN ADAMS. He was a native of Quincy, Massachusetts, and born on the 19th of October, (O. S.) 1735. He was the fourth in descent from Henry Adams, whose tomb bears this singular inscription—“He took his flight from the dragon persecution, in Devonshire, England, and alighted, with eight sons, near Mount Wollaston.” In childhood the career of John Adams was marked with a rapid developement of strong intellectual powers, which were skilfully cultivated by Mr. Marsh, at Braintree, a celebrated and successful teacher. At the age of sixteen years he entered Harvard College, at Cambridge, where he became a finished scholar and graduated at the age of twenty. He gained a high reputation for frankness, honesty and untiring industry, and was greatly esteemed by the professors and his classmates.

From college he proceeded to Worcester, commenced the study of law under Mr. Putnam, and finished with Mr. Gridley, supporting himself in the mean time by teaching a grammar class. At that early age he possessed wisdom to perceive right, and moral courage to pursue it. In view of the past and present, he made a philosophic grasp at the future, as will appear from the following extract from a letter written by him on the 12th of October, 1755, shortly after he took up his residence at Worcester.

“Soon after the reformation a few people came over into this new world for conscience sake. Perhaps this apparently trivial incident may transfer the great seat of empire into America. It looks likely to me, if we can remove the turbulent Gallics, our people, according to the exactest computations, will, in another century, become more numerous than England herself. Should this be the case, since we have, I may say, all the naval stores of the nation in our hands, it will be easy to obtain the mastery of the seas, and then the united force of all Europe will not be able to subdue us. The only way to keep us from setting up for ourselves—is to disunite us. * * * Keep us in distinct colonies, and then some men in each colony, desiring the monarchy of the whole, will destroy each other’s influence and keep the country in equilibrio.”

This broad and expansive view of the future, conceived by a youth, was very remarkable. He saw the one thing needful to render our nation powerful—the creation of a navy—for which nature has given us all the stores. The paralysis that pervades our government in its naval improvements has long astonished the nations of the old world, and a _few_ of our own statesmen. The time _will_ arrive when our country will be made to feel most keenly—that “a navy is the right arm of defence.”

After pursuing his studies three years, Mr. Adams was admitted to the practice of law. He then commenced his professional career at Braintree. Questions of constitutional right and law had already become the subject of investigation and a root of bitterness between the colonists and the officers of the crown. The latter, that were engaged in the custom-house, claimed unlimited power to search the private dwellings of all persons whom they suspected of having dutiable goods. This suspicion, or pretended suspicion, often arose from personal animosity, without a shadow of evidence or reasonable cause. The right of search was of course resisted as arbitrary, unconstitutional and assumed. This led to an application to the superior court for “writs of assistance,” which may be considered as one of the first germs of the revolution. Mr. Gridley, who had led Mr. Adams to the bar, and was then his friend and admirer, maintained the legality of the proceeding, not upon the ground of constitutional law, but from the necessity of the case in order to protect the revenue. Mr. Adams took a deep interest in the question, which was finally argued before the superior court at Boston, by Mr. Gridley for the crown and Mr. Otis for the people. In listening to the latter gentleman, a fire of patriotism was kindled in the bosom of Mr. Adams, that death alone could extinguish. He asserted in after life, that “Mr. Otis’s oration against writs of assistance, breathed into this nation the breath of life. * * * American independence was then and there born. * * * Every man of an immense crowded audience appeared to me to go away, as I did, ready to take up arms against writs of assistance. Then and there was the first scene of the first act of opposition to the arbitrary claims of Great Britain.”

The court _publicly_ decided against the writs, but _secretly_ issued them. That people had their houses searched to satisfy revenge, will appear from the following described incident.

“Mr. Justice Wally had called Mr. Ware, one of the persons in possession of such a writ, before him, by a constable, to answer for a breach of the Sabbath-day acts, or for profane swearing. As soon as he had finished, Mr. Ware asked him if he had done. He replied—yes. Well, then, said Mr. Ware, I will show you a little of _my_ power. I command you to permit me to search your house for uncustomed goods—and went on to search his house from garret to cellar—and then served the constable in the same manner.”

We can readily imagine the natural consequences of such a procedure, against which Mr. Adams at once took a bold and decided stand. The assembly also interfered in behalf of the people, and in 1762 prepared a bill to prevent these writs from being issued to any but custom-house officers, and to them only upon a specific information on oath—which bill was vetoed by the governor. As a blow at the royal authority this was well aimed, and showed a disposition in the members to do the will of their constituents. As a retaliative measure they reduced the salary of the judges.