Chapter 16

"I shall endeavor to communicate a more full state of the sentiments of my fellow citizens than I could in my last letter. I could then only conjecture what might be the result of their judgments respecting the Hon'ble the Directors of the East I. Com^y sending their teas to this Continent. A communication of sentiments, taking place between the New Yorkers & the Philadelphians, soon produced a number of pieces in the public prints and otherwise, most absolutely asserting the rights of the Americans, and denying the power of Parliament respecting the internal taxation of the Colonies, which led into many comparisons, endeavoring to shew that the agency of the tea was equally odious & dangerous as the execution of the Stamp Act would have been. I may say with great truth, that I do not believe one man in a hundred was to be met with who approved of the sending the tea, while the duty was to be paid here. Yet a great number of people acknowledged the right of the East India Directors to export their teas to America, and declared that nothing less than a confirmed belief that the admitting this mode of taxation would render the assemblies of the people mere cyphers, could have induced them to proceed in the manner they have done; for when it was mentioned to them that by refusing to admit the tea to be landed, they did as much deprive the India Company of the natural rights of English merchants, as the subjecting us to the payment of duty possibly could affect us, they replyed that the Act of Parliament hindered the tea from being landed _until_ the duty was first paid or secured, and consequently as the Directors knew this, and the opposition heretofore given by the Americans, they must take what followed.

"You will perceive by the resolution formed and entered into on the 18^th, into what a situation the agents were driven, there being no possibility of persuading the people to wait till we knew the real state of facts. The meeting at the State House consisted, (it is said) of 6 or 700, and be assured, they were as respectable a body of inhabitants as has been together on any occasion; many of the _first_ rank. The whole of their proceedings were conducted with the greatest decency and firmness, and without one dissenting voice. After the resolution had passed, they appointed a Com^tee of 12 persons, who, on the 18^th inst., about 12 o'clock, called on James and Drinker, and then came down to my house, where they conducted themselves with great decency, read the resolution, and informed me they were appointed by their fellow citizens to demand of Tho^s. & Isaac Wharton, whether we would execute the trust _if_ the duty was to be paid here? We told them it involved us in a difficulty which we could not solve, _because we had not received the least intimation from the Directors_, and therefore it was impossible to know the exact state the tea was to be shipped in, but that we would, on being acquainted with the situation under which it came, openly communicate the same, and that we would do nothing to injure the property of the India Com^y or enslave America. This answer they received with great satisfaction, and in the evening they reported to a unanimous body of citizens the answers they had received, who gave Tho^s. and Isaac Wharton very evident marks of their approbation for the candid answer they gave.

"Should the tea be sent subject to the payment of the duty, I am satisfied it will not be suffered to be landed, and that it must return to London, (unless the India Directors have in such case directed the captain where to proceed with it,) which intimation may be in time to secure the property by insurance should they incline."

* * * * *

Copies of the above advices were, by order of the Com^tee of Warehouses, sent to Lord Dartmouth in the manner directed by their minute of the ----

_BOSTON._

LETTER FROM MR. JONATHAN CLARKE TO EDWARD WHELER, ESQ^R.

Boston, New England, 17^th Nov^r., 1773.

Sir:

After a long detention in the English channel, and a pretty long passage, I arrived here this morning from England, and there being a vessel to sail for London within a few hours, gives me an opportunity of writing you a few lines on the subject of the consignment of tea, made to our house by the Hon'ble East India Company, in which I had your friendly assistance, and of which I shall always retain a grateful sense.

I find that this measure is an unpopular one, and before my arrival some measures have been taken to oblige my friends to make a resignation of the trust, which they have not thought fit to comply with. They have wrote to our friend, Mr. Abraham Dupuis, very particularly, respecting the measures that have been adopted, and to that account I must beg leave to refer you, as I have not time to repeat it by this opportunity, but I shall keep the Company fully advised in future.

I fully see that we shall meet with difficulty in executing this trust, but our utmost endeavors shall be exerted to fulfill the orders we may receive from the Company.

I am, very respectfully sir, your most obliged h'ble serv^t JON^A CLARKE. Edward Wheler, Esq^r.

Received from the Deputy Chairman, 5^th Jan^ry, 1774.

LETTER TO MR. ABRAHAM DUPUIS.

Sir,

Mr. Wheler, chairman of the East India Company, having received a letter from Jonathan Clarke, Esq^r., dated Boston, 17^th November last, wherein he begs leave to refer him to you for the measures that have been adopted at Boston, relative to the Company's exportation of tea to that Colony, I am directed by the chairman to desire you would be pleased to communicate to him the advices you have received from Messrs. Clarke & Sons, for the information of the Court of Directors of the East India Company, which will be a favor conferred on him. I am, sir,

Your most obd^t serv^t, WM. SETTLE.

East India House, 5^th Jan^y, 1774. Abraham Dupuis, Esq^r., Gracechurch Street.

* * * * *

LETTER FROM MESSRS. CLARKE & SONS, at BOSTON TO MR. ABR^M DUPUIS,

_Referred to in Mr. Clarke's Letter to the chairman, of the 17th Nov^r, 1773._

Boston, Nov^r., 1773.

MR. ABRAHAM DUPUIS.

Sir:

We now embrace the first leisure we have, to give you an account of the proceedings of some of the inhabitants of this town, relative to the expected importation of teas into this port from the Hon'ble East India Company. As soon as it was known here that the Company had determined on this measure, and that certain gentlemen of this town were fixed upon as factors, there appeared a dissatisfaction in many persons. But at first there did not appear any resentment against the supposed factors, nor was there, as far as we ever heard, any mention made of a design to bring them under any obligations not to execute their trust, but the general voice among the opposers of the Company's plan was, that the teas must not be landed, or, if landed, not sold. About three or four weeks ago, a printed anonymous address to the Company's factors was brought to this place by the post, either from New York or Philadelphia, but whether it was fabricated at either of those places, or this, we cannot determine. The design of it was, to represent a number of gentlemen, who cannot justly be considered in any other light than commercial factors, as Crown officers, and they, in the said paper, are expressly put on the same footing with the late stamp officers, doubtless with a design to render them odious to the people, and much is said in it to dissuade or intimidate them from executing their expected trust. Soon after this, a second anonymous address, but much more inflammatory, appeared here in one of the newspapers from New York. Both these were printed in one or more of the newspapers of this town, and several other pieces were also published here, to rouse the people to an opposition to the Company's design, and their rage against us and the other gentlemen, factors for the Company in this place. As things were then circumstanced in this place, we judged it might tend to undeceive many persons that were misled, to publish some observations on the Company's plan, to answer the objections that were made against it, and to point out some of the beneficial consequences attending the execution of it. Accordingly we, by the assistance of a friend, got printed in Messrs. Fleet's Evening Post, of the 24^th October, a piece signed Z[42], in which this affair is canvassed with as much freedom as the temper of the times would bear, and altho' this was penned in haste, and under the restriction of the afore-hinted shackle, we have the satisfaction to find, that in the opinion of the most judicious amongst us here, every objection that has been started against the Company's plan is fully answered, and altho' this publishment does not seem to have had its designed effect as yet, it is to be hoped, when the _people's_ temper is become more cool, that the aforesaid piece, with what has since, and may hereafter be published on this subject, may not entirely fail of the design proposed.

Besides these paper skirmishes, we would inform you that we were told that there were about two or three weeks since, several nightly meetings, held in various parts of the town, of a large number of persons, to consult and conclude on some method to prevent the execution of the Company's plan, but what was fixed at these meetings we could not learn. But we were not lost in this uncertainty long, for in the morning of the 2^nd instant, about one o'clock, we were roused out of our sleep by a violent knocking at the door of our house, and on looking out of the window we saw (for the moon shone very bright) two men in the courtyard. One of them said he had brought us a letter from the country. A servant took the letter of him at the door, the contents of which were as follows:

"Boston, 1st Nov., 1773.

Richard Clarke & Son:

The Freemen of this Province understand, from good authority, that there is a quantity of tea consigned to your house by the East India Company, which is destructive to the happiness of every well-wisher to his country. It is therefore expected that you personally appear at Liberty Tree, on Wednesday next, at twelve o'clock at noon day, to make a public resignation of your commission, agreeable to a notification of this day for that purpose.

Fail not upon your peril.

O.C."

Two letters of the same tenor were sent in the same manner to the other factors. On going abroad we found a number of printed notifications posted up in various parts of the town, of which the following is a copy:

"_To the Freemen of this and the other Towns in the Province._

Gentlemen:

You are desired to meet at Liberty Tree, next Wednesday, at twelve o'clock at noon day, then and there to hear the persons to whom the tea, shipped by the East India Company, is consigned, make a public resignation of their office as consignees, upon oath. And also swear that they will reship any teas that may be consigned to them by the said Company, by the first vessel sailing for London.

Boston, Nov^r. 1st, 1773.

O.C., Secre^y."

In this you may observe a delusory design to create a public belief that the factors had consented to resign their trust on Wednesday, the 3^d inst., on which day we were summoned by the above-mentioned letter to appear at Liberty Tree, at 11 o'clock, A.M. All the bells of the meeting-houses for public worship were set a-ringing and continued ringing till twelve; the town cryer went thro' the town summoning the people to assemble at Liberty Tree. By these methods, and some more secret ones made use of by the authors of this design, a number of people, supposed by some to be about 500, and by others more, were collected at the time and place mentioned in the printed notification. They consisted chiefly of people of the lowest rank, very few reputable tradesmen, as we are informed, appeared amongst them. There were indeed two merchants, reputed rich, and the selectmen of the town, but these last say they went to prevent disorder. The gentlemen who are supposed the designed factors for the East India Comp^y, viz: Mr. Tho^s. Hutchinson, Mr. Faneuil, Mr. Winslow & Messrs. Clarke, met in the forenoon of the 3^rd instant, at the latter's warehouse, the lower end of King Street. Mr. Elisha Hutchinson was not present, owing to a misunderstanding of our intended plan of conduct, but his brother engaged to act in his behalf. You may well judge that none of us ever entertained the least thoughts of obeying the summons sent us to attend at Liberty Tree. After a consultation amongst ourselves and friends, we judged it best to continue together, and to endeavour, with the assistance of a few friends, to oppose the designs of the mob, if they should come to offer us any insult or injury. And on this occasion, we were so happy as to be supported by a number of gentlemen of the first rank. About one o'clock, a large body of people appeared at the head of King Street, and came down to the end, and halted opposite to our warehouse. Nine persons came from them up into our counting-room, viz: Mr. Molineux, Mr. Wm. Dennie, Doctor Warren, Dr. Church, Major Barber, Mr. Henderson, Mr. Gabriel Johonnot, Mr. Proctor, and Mr. Ezekiel Cheever. Mr. Molineux, as speaker of the above Com^tee, addressed himself to us, and the other gentlemen present, the supposed factors to the East India Com^y, and told us that we had committed an high insult on the people, in refusing to give them that most reasonable satisfaction which had been demanded in the summons or notice which had been sent us, then read a paper proposed by him, to be subscribed by the factors, importing that they solemnly promise that they would not land or pay any duty on any tea that should be sent by the East I. Com^y, but that they would send back the tea to England in the same bottom, which extravagant demand being firmly refused, and treated with a proper contempt by all of us, Mr. Molineux then said that since we had refused their most reasonable demands, we must expect to feel, on our first appearance, the utmost weight of the people's resentment, upon which he and the rest of the Com^tee left our counting-room and warehouse, and went to and mixed with the multitude that continued before our warehouse. Soon after this, the mob having made one or two reverse motions to some distance, we perceived them hastening their pace towards the store, on which we ordered our servant to shut the outward door; but this he could not effect, although assisted by some other persons, amongst whom was Nathaniel Hatch,[43] Esq^r., one of the Justices of the inferior Court for this country, and a Justice of the Peace for the county. This gen^m made all possible exertions to stem the current of the mob, not only by declaring repeatedly, and with a loud voice, that he was a magistrate, and commanded the people, by virtue of his office, and in his Majesty's name, to desist from all riotous proceedings, and to disperse, but also by assisting in person; but the people not only made him a return of insulting & reproachful words, but prevented his endeavors, by force and blows, to get our doors shut, upon which Mr. Hatch, with some other of our friends, retreated to our counting-room. Soon after this, the outward doors of the store were taken off their hinges by the mob, and carried to some distance; immediately a number of the mob rushed into the warehouse, and endeavored to force into the counting-room, but as this was in another story, and the stair-case leading to it narrow, we, with our friends--about twenty in number--by some vigorous efforts, prevented their accomplishing their design. The mob appeared in a short time to be dispersed, and after a few more faint attacks, they contented themselves with blocking us up in the store for the space of about an hour and a half, at which time, perceiving that much the greatest part of them were drawn off, and those that remained not formidable, we, with our friends, left the warehouse, walked up the length of King Street together, and then went to our respective houses, without any molestation, saving some insulting behavior from a few despicable persons. The night following, a menacing letter was thrust under Mr. Faneuil's door, to be communicated to the other consignees, with a design to intimidate them from executing their trust, and other methods have since been made use of in the public papers and otherwise, for the same purpose. The next day, being the 4^th inst., a notification was sent thro' the town, by order of the selectmen, for the inhabitants of the town to meet on this affair the next day, a transcript of which, and the proceedings of the town thereon, at their meetings on the 5^th and 6^th inst., you have a full account of in the enclosed newspapers, which, being long, we shall only copy the message of the town to us, and our answer, which are as follows:--

"_Voted_, That a Com^tee be immediately chosen to wait on those gentle^n who, it is reported, are appointed by the East India Com^y to receive and sell said tea, and request them, from a regard to their own character, and the good order and peace of the town and province, immediately to resign their appointments. And the following gent^m, viz.: the Moderator of the Meeting, Mr. Henderson Inches, Benj^n Austin, Esq^r., and Mr. John Mason, & the select men of the town, were appointed a com^tee accordingly."

These gent^m, all except Mr. Mason, came to our house about one o'clock, P.M., but not having an authenticated copy of the Town's vote, we desired to be favored with one, which was accordingly sent us, in a short time, from the moderator, John Hancock, Esq^r., to which we returned the following answer, viz.:--

"Boston, Nov^r 5, 1773.

Sir:

It is impossible for us to comply with the request of the Town, signified to us this day by their Com^tee, as we know not on what terms the tea, if any of it should be sent to our care, will come out, nor what obligations, either of a moral or pecuniary nature, we may be under to fulfil the trust that may be devolved on us. When we are acquainted with these circumstances, we shall be better qualified to give a definite answer to the request of the Town.

We are, sir, your most humble servants, RICH^D CLARKE & SONS, BENJ^N FANEUIL, FOR SELF & JOSHUA WINSLOW, Esq^r.

Hon'ble John Hancock, Esq^r., Moderator of a Town Meeting at Faneuil Hall."

This answer, you'll see by the enclosed news paper, was unanimously voted to be not satisfactory to the Town, and the next day, on Mr. Hutchinson's sending into the Town Meeting an answer of the same purport, both his and ours were voted to be daringly affrontive to the Town, but upon what reasons this vote was founded they have not been pleased to declare. You may observe that the Town has resolved that they will, by all means in their power, prevent the sale of the teas exported by the East India Company, and in the preamble to this vote it is asserted that the quantities of teas imported into this place since a certain agreement, which we presume they designed should be understood to commence in the fall of 1770, at which time the non-importation agreement ceased, had been very small in proportion to what had been usual before said agreement, and that by a few persons only. In order to set those facts in a clear light, we obtained from the custom house an account of teas imported into this place from the beginning of the year 1768, at which time the first teas that paid the American duty arrived to this time, and got the same printed in the enclosed news paper, by which it appears that the fact has been grossly misrepresented, especially considering that this year's importation would probably be encreased at the end of the year two or three hundred chests, if the expected exportation on account of the East India Company had not prevented it. Besides the public transactions relative to this affair, before recited, we have repeated accounts of the continual nocturnal meetings of the leaders of the mob, and we are informed that they are determined to make the utmost efforts to prevent the sale of the teas; that their present scheme, or part of it, is to endeavor, by all methods, even the most brutal, to force the consignees to give up their trust, and if they should fail in this, it is by some persons publickly asserted that the tea shall not be landed, or if it should be, that it shall be burnt.[44]

In our present unexpected and difficult situation, we have only to desire you to assure the gentlemen, who may have consigned any part of the Company's teas to our house, whom we cannot at present write to, as we have not been advised who the gentlemen are, that we shall make use of the best advice, and exert our utmost endeavors to carry into execution the Company's design, which, as far as we are acquainted with it, we judge to be beneficial to the Colonies, and to this Town and Province especially, but whether it will finally be in our power to accomplish our design, we are not at present certain. We beg the favor of you, sir, to communicate the foregoing to the gentlemen who may have had the direction of this affair. We are, with the greatest esteem and highest sense of our obligations to them and you, sir,

Your most obedient & most humble servants, RICHARD CLARKE & SONS.

P.S.--Mr. Faneuil writes to his friend, Mr. Brook Watson, by this opportunity, advising him of the transactions relating to this affair. In case of miscarriage of his letter, we desire you to communicate this letter to Mr. Watson.

EXTRACT OF MR. FANEUIL'S LETTER TO BROOK WATSON, ESQ^R.

MENTIONED IN MR. CLARKE'S POSTSCRIPT.

Mr. Faneuil, after giving an account of the proceedings of the inhabitants of the 3^rd instant, entirely agreeing in substance with Mr. Clarke's relation, goes on--

"By comparing this account with what Mr. Clarke writes his friend, Mr. Dupuis, of London, you will come at the exact state of the affair. The Governor has given my Lord Dartmouth an account of the conduct of his Council. I will only say that next day they voted that the Attorney-General be ordered to prosecute the persons concerned in this riot. The consequence, I suppose, will be, the grand jury will not find a bill against them, and there the affair will end."

On Thursday, a letter, of which the following is a copy, was found in my entry: