[Pg i]
THE
LOYALISTS OF AMERICA
AND
THEIR TIMES:
From 1620 to 1816.
BY EGERTON RYERSON, D.D., LL.D.,
Chief Superintendent of Education for Upper Canada from 1844 to 1876.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. I.
Volume II is also available from Project Gutenberg
TORONTO:
WILLIAM BRIGGS, 80 KING STREET EAST;
JAMES CAMPBELL & SON, AND
WILLING & WILLIAMSON.
MONTREAL: DAWSON BROTHERS.
1880.
[Pg ii]
Entered, according to the Act of the Parliament of Canada, in
the year One thousand eight hundred and eighty, by the Rev. Egerton
Ryerson, D.D., LL.D., in the Office of the Minister of Agriculture.
[Pg iii]
PREFACE.
As no Indian pen has ever traced the history of the aborigines of
America, or recorded the deeds of their chieftains, their "prowess and
their wrongs"—their enemies and spoilers being their historians; so the
history of the Loyalists of America has never been written except by
their enemies and spoilers, and those English historians who have not
troubled themselves with examining original authorities, but have
adopted the authorities, and in some instances imbibed the spirit, of
American historians, who have never tired in eulogizing Americans and
everything American, and deprecating everything English, and all who
have loyally adhered to the unity of the British Empire.
I have thought that the other side of the story should be written; or,
in other words, the true history of the relations, disputes, and
contests between Great Britain and her American colonies and the United
States of America.
The United Empire Loyalists were the losing party; their history has
been written by their adversaries, and strangely misrepresented. In the
vindication of their character, I have not opposed assertion against
assertion; but, in correction of unjust and untrue assertions, I have
offered the records and documents of the actors themselves, and in their
own words.[Pg iv] To do this has rendered my history, to a large extent,
documentary, instead of being a mere popular narrative. The many
fictions of American writers will be found corrected and exposed in the
following volumes, by authorities and facts which cannot be successfully
denied. In thus availing myself so largely of the proclamations,
messages, addresses, letters, and records of the times when they
occurred, I have only followed the example of some of the best
historians and biographers.
No one can be more sensible than myself of the imperfect manner in which
I have performed my task, which I commenced more than a quarter of a
century since, but I have been prevented from completing it sooner by
public duties—pursuing, as I have done from the beginning, an untrodden
path of historical investigations. From the long delay, many supposed I
would never complete the work, or that I had abandoned it. On its
completion, therefore, I issued a circular, an extract from which I
hereto subjoin, explaining the origin, design, and scope of the work:—
"I have pleasure in stating that I have at length completed the task
which the newspaper press and public men of different parties urged
upon me from 1855 to 1860. In submission to what seemed to be public
opinion, I issued, in 1861, a circular addressed to the United Empire
Loyalists and their descendants, of the British Provinces of America,
stating the design and scope of my proposed work, and requesting them
to transmit to me, at my expense, any letters or papers in their
possession which would throw light upon the early history and
settlement in these Provinces by our U.E. Loyalist forefathers. From
all the British Provinces I received answers to my circular; and I
have given, with little abridgment, in one chapter of my history,
these intensely interesting letters and papers—to which I have been
enabled to add considerably from two large quarto manuscript volumes
of papers relating to the U.E. Loyalists in the Dominion
Parliamentary Library at Ottawa, with the use of which I have been
favoured by the learned and obliging librarian, Mr. Todd.
"In addition to all the works relating to the subject which I could
collect in Europe and America, I spent, two years since, several
months in the Library of the British Museum, employing the assistance
of an amanuensis, in verifying quotations and making extracts from
works not to be found [Pg v]elsewhere, in relation especially to unsettled
questions involved in the earlier part of my history.
"I have entirely sympathized with the Colonists in their
remonstrances, and even use of arms, in defence of British
constitutional rights, from 1763 to 1776; but I have been compelled
to view the proceedings of the Revolutionists and their treatment of
the Loyalists in a very different light.
"After having compared the conduct of the two parties during the
Revolution, the exile of the Loyalists from their homes after the
close of the War, and their settlement in the British Provinces, I
have given a brief account of the government of each Province, and
then traced the alleged and real causes of the War of 1812-1815,
together with the courage, sacrifice, and patriotism of Canadians,
both English and French, in defending our country against eleven
successive American invasions, when the population of the two Canadas
was to that of the United States as one to twenty-seven, and the
population of Upper Canada (the chief scene of the War) was as one to
one hundred and six. Our defenders, aided by a few English regiments,
were as handfuls, little Spartan bands, in comparison of the hosts of
the invading armies; and yet at the end of two years, as well as at
the end of the third and last year of the War, not an invader's foot
found a place on the soil of Canada.
"I undertook this work not self-moved and with no view to profit; and
if I receive no pecuniary return from this work, on which I have
expended no small labour and means, I shall have the satisfaction of
having done all in my power to erect an historical monument to the
character and merits of the fathers and founders of my native
country."
E. RYERSON.
"Toronto, Sept. 24th, 1879."
[Pg vi]
CONTENTS.
-
Introduction.—Two Classes of Emigrants—Two Governments for seventy
years—The Pilgrim Fathers, their Pilgrimages and Settlement.
- The writer a native Colonist
1
- Massachusetts the seed-plot of the American Revolution
1
- Two distinct emigrations to New England—the "Pilgrim
Fathers" in 1620, the "Puritan Fathers" in 1629; two separate
governments for seventy years; characteristics of each
1
- Objects and documentary character of the history, which is
not a popular narrative, but a historical discussion
(in a note)
2
- The "Pilgrim Fathers;" their pilgrimages and settlement in
New England
2
- Origin of Independents
2
- Flight to Holland, and twelve years' pilgrimage; trades and
wearisome life there
3
- Long to be under English rule and protection
3
- Determine and arrange to emigrate to America
3
- Voyage, and intended place of settlement
4
- Landing at Cape Cod; constitution of government; Messrs.
Bancroft and Young's remarks upon it
5
- Settlement of "New Plymouth"
6
-
What known of the harbour and coast before the landing
of the Pilgrims
7
-
Inflated and extravagant accounts of the character and
voyage of the Pilgrims (in a note)
7
-
Results of the first year's experience and labours;
a week's celebration of the first "harvest home"—such a
first harvest home as no United Empire Loyalists
were ever able to celebrate in Canada
9
-
Government of the "Pilgrim Fathers" at New Plymouth during
seventy years, from 1620
to 1690, as distinct from that of the
"Puritan Fathers" of Massachusetts Bay.
11-23
-
Two governments—difference between the government of the
Pilgrims and that of the Puritans
11
-
Compact, and seven successive governors of the Pilgrims
12
-
Simple, just, popular and loyal government of the Pilgrims
and their descendants
13
-
Illustrations of their loyalty to successive sovereigns,
and the equity and kindness with which Charles the First
and Charles the Second treated them
14
-
Complaints against the unjust and persecuting conduct of
the government of Massachusetts Bay, the cause of Parliamentary
and Royal Commissions in 1646, 1664, and 1678
17
-
Four questions of inquiry by the Commissioners of Charles
the Second, in 1665, and satisfactory answers
by the
Plymouth Government
18
-
Opposition of the Puritan Government of Massachusetts
Bay to the Pilgrim Government in seeking a Royal
Charter
in 1630 and 1678
21
-
Absorption of the Plymouth Colony into that of Massachusetts
Bay by the second Royal Charter; the exclusion
of its chief men
from public offices
21
-
Reflections on the melancholy termination of the Plymouth
Government; the noble and loyal character of the
Pilgrim
Fathers and their descendants
22
-
The Puritans of Massachusetts Bay Company and their
Government, commencing in 1629.
24-84
-
First settlement—Royal Charter granted
24
-
Causes, characteristics, and objects of early emigration
to New England
25
-
The Puritan emigrants to Massachusetts Bay professed members
of the Established Church when they left
England
26
-
Professed objects of the emigration two-fold—religious and
commercial; chiefly religious, for "converting
and
civilizing the idolatrous and savage Indian tribes"
26
-
Endicot; Royal Charter
27
-
Second emigration; Endicot becomes a Congregationalist,
and establishes Congregationalism as the only
worship of
the Company at Massachusetts Bay, and banishes John and
Samuel Brown for adhering
(with others) to the old worship
28
-
The question involving the primary cause of the American
Revolution; the setting up of a new form of
worship, and
abolishing and proscribing that of the Church of England,
and banishing Episcopalians who
adhered to the old form of
worship; the facts analysed and discussed; instructions of
the Company in
England, and oaths of allegiance and of office
prescribed by it
30
-
Complaints of the banished Episcopalians in England;
proceedings by the Company, denials, proofs,
conduct and
correspondence of the parties concerned
46
-
Address of Governor Winthrop, &c., on leaving England, in
1630, to their "Fathers and Brethren of the
Church of
England," affirming their filial and undying love to the
Church of England, as their
"dear mother," from whose breasts
they had derived their spiritual nourishment, &c., &c.
55
-
Remarks on this address, and absurd interpretations of it
57
-
Puritan authorities alone adduced as evidence on the
subjects of discussion; Puritan letters suppressed;
first seeds of the American Revolution
59
-
Contest between King Charles the First and the Massachusetts
Bay Puritans during ten years, from
1630 to 1640
61
-
Professions of the Puritans on leaving England, and their
conduct on arriving at Massachusetts Bay
62
-
In the Church revolution at Massachusetts Bay, none but
Congregationalists could be citizen electors,
or eligible
for office of any kind; five-sixths of the male population
disfranchised
63
-
This first violation of the Royal Charter and laws of England
65
-
Complaints to the King in Council in 1632
65
-
Imputations upon the complainants, and upon the King and
Council for listening to their complaints
66
-
Proceedings of the King and Council in 1632; the accused deny
the charges, and convince the King
of their innocence and
good faith; further inquiry to be made; in the meantime the
King dismisses the
complaints, assures the accused that he
never intended to impose at Massachusetts Bay the religious
ceremonies to which they had objected in England, and assures
them of his desire to promote the
interests of their plantation
66
-
The King's kind and indulgent conduct, and how the advocates
of the Company deceived him
67
-
Continued oppressions and proscriptions at Massachusetts Bay,
and fresh complaints to the King in
Council in 1634
69
-
Transfer of the Charter; kept secret during four years;
remarks upon it; effect of the disclosure, and
renewed
complaints
69
-
Issue of a Royal Commission; proposed armed resistance at
Massachusetts Bay advised by the
Congregational ministers;
remarks on Mr. Bancroft's attacks and statements; official
representations,
and conduct of parties concerned
72
-
Massachusetts Bay rulers the aggressors throughout; review
of the controversy
75
-
More despotism practised in Massachusetts Bay than was
ever practised in Upper Canada
82
-
The Government of Massachusetts Bay under the Long Parliament,
the Commonwealth,
and Cromwell.
85-129
-
Commissioners from the Massachusetts Bay rulers to the Long
Parliament
85
-
Change of Government in England stops emigration to Massachusetts
85
-
First Address of the Massachusetts Commissioners to the
Long Parliament
86
-
Ordinance of the Long Parliament in regard to Massachusetts
trade, &c., in 1642, and remarks upon it
87
-
The Massachusetts Bay Court pass an Act in 1644, of persecution
of the Baptists; another Act authorising discussion, &c., in
favour of the Parliament, but pronouncing as a "high offence,"
to be proceeded against
"capitally," anything done or said in
behalf of the King
87
-
In 1646, the Long Parliament pass an ordinance appointing a
Commission and Governor-General over Massachusetts and other
Colonies, with powers more extensive than the Commission which
had been
appointed by Charles the First in 1634
88
-
The parliamentary authority declared in this ordinance, and
acknowledged by the Puritans in 1646,
the same as that
maintained by the United Empire Loyalists of America one
hundred and thirty years
afterwards, in the American Revolution
of 1776 (in a note)
88-92
-
The Presbyterians in 1646 seek liberty of worship at
Massachusetts Bay, but are punished for their
petition to
the Massachusetts Bay Government, and are fined and their
papers seized to prevent their
appeal to the Puritan Parliament
93
-
How their appeal to England was defeated
98
-
Further illustrations of the proceedings of the rulers
of Massachusetts Bay as more intolerant and
persecuting
than anything ever attempted by the High Church party in
Upper Canada
98
-
Colonial government according to Massachusetts Bay
pretensions impossible
99
-
The order of the Long Parliament to the Massachusetts
Bay Government to surrender the Charter
and receive
another; consternation
99
-
Means employed to evade the order of Parliament
100
-
Mr. Bancroft's statements, and remarks upon them (in a note)
100
-
Mr. Palfrey's statements in regard to what he calls the
"Presbyterian Cabal," and remarks upon them
103
-
Petition of the Massachusetts Bay Court to the Long
Parliament in 1651; two addresses to Cromwell—the
one
in 1651, the other in 1654
108
-
Remarks on these addresses
110
-
The famous Navigation Act, passed by the Long Parliament
in 1651, oppressive to the Southern Colonies,
but
regularly evaded in Massachusetts Bay by collusion
with Cromwell
111
-
Intolerance and persecutions of Presbyterians, Baptists,
&c., by the Massachusetts Bay rulers, from 1643
to 1651
112
-
Letters of remonstrance against these persecutions by
the distinguished Puritans, Sir Henry Vane and Sir
Richard Saltonstall
116
-
Mr. Neal on the same subject (in a note)
120
-
The Rev. Messrs. Wilson and Norton instigate, and
the Rev. Mr. Cotton justifies, these persecutions
of the Baptists
120
-
Summary of the first thirty years of the Massachusetts
Bay Government, and character of its persecuting
laws
and spirit, by the celebrated Edmund Burke
122
-
The death of Cromwell; conduct and professions of the
rulers of Massachusetts Bay in regard to Cromwell
and
Charles the Second at his restoration; Scotchmen, fighting
on their own soil for their king, taken
prisoners at Dunbar,
transported and received as slaves at Massachusetts Bay
124
-
Government of Massachusetts Bay and other Colonies
during twenty years, under
Charles the Second, from 1660
to 1680.
130-203
-
Restoration; the news of it was received with joy in the
Colonies, except in Massachusetts Bay, where
false rumours
were circulated alone
130
-
Change of tone and professions at Massachusetts Bay on
the confirmation of the news of the King's
restoration
and firm establishment on the throne; John Eliot, Indian
apostle, censured for what he had
been praised
131
-
When and under what circumstances the Massachusetts
Bay Government proclaimed the King, and
addressed him;
the address (in a note)
132
-
Remarks on this address, and its contrariety to the
address to Cromwell ten years before
133
-
The King's kind letter addressed to Governor Endicot (in a note)
135
-
The Massachusetts Court's "ecstasy of joy" at the King's
letter, and reply to it
135
-
The King enjoins ceasing to persecute the Quakers: how
answered (in a note)
137
-
Petitions and representations to the King from Episcopalians,
Presbyterians, Baptists, &c., in
Massachusetts Bay, on their
persecutions and disfranchisement by the local Government
137
-
The King's Puritan Councillors, and kindly feelings for
the Colony of Massachusetts Bay
138
-
The King's letter of pardon and oblivion, June 28, 1662
(in a note), of the past misdeeds of the
Massachusetts
Bay Government, and the six conditions on which he promised
to continue the Charter
139
-
The King's oblivion of the past and promised continuance
of the Charter for the future joyfully
proclaimed; but the
publication of the letter withheld, and when the publication
of it could be withheld
no longer, all action on the royal
conditions of toleration, &c., prescribed, was ordered by
the local
Government to be suspended until the order of the
Court
141
-
Messrs. Bradstreet and Norton, sent as agents to England to
answer complaints, are favourably received;
are first
thanked and then censured at Boston; Norton dies of grief
142
-
On account of the complaints and representations made to
England, the King in Council determines
upon the
appointment of a Commission to inquire into the matters
complained of in the New England
Colonies, and to remedy
what was wrong
145
-
Slanderous rumours circulated in Massachusetts against
the Commission and Commissioners
146
-
Copy of the Royal Commission (in a note), explaining
the reasons and objects of it
147
-
All the New England Colonies, except Massachusetts Bay,
duly receive the Royal Commissioners; their
report on
Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Plymouth (in a note)
148
-
Report of the Royal Commissioners on the Colony of
Massachusetts Bay (in a note); difference from the
other
Colonies; twenty anomalies in its laws inconsistent with
its Charter; evades the conditions of the
promised continuance
of the Charter; denies the King's jurisdiction
149
-
They address the King, and enclose copies of their
address, with letters, to Lord Chancellor Clarendon,
the
Earl of Manchester, Lord Say, and the Honourable Robert Boyle
152
-
The United Empire Loyalists the true Liberals of that day
152
-
Copy of the long and characteristic address of the
Massachusetts Bay Court to the King, October 25,
1664 (with notes)
153
-
Letters of Lord Clarendon and the Honourable Robert
Boyle to the Massachusetts Bay Court, in reply to
their letters, and on their address to the King;
pretensions and conduct
160
-
Conduct and pretensions of the Massachusetts Bay Court
condemned and exposed by loyalist inhabitants
of Boston,
Salem, Newbury, and Ipswich, in a petition
163
-
The King's reply to the long address or petition of
the Massachusetts Bay Court, dated February 25,
1665,
correcting their misstatements, and showing the
groundlessness of their pretended fears and
actual
pretensions
166
-
The King's kind and courteous letter without effect
upon the Massachusetts Bay Court, who refuse to
acknowledge the Royal Commissioners; second and more
decisive letter from the King, April, 1666
169
-
Retrospect of the transactions between the two Charleses
and the Massachusetts Bay Court from
1630 to 1666, with
extracts of correspondence
171
-
Royal Charters to Connecticut and Rhode Island, in 1663,
with remarks upon them by Judge Story
(in a note)
172
-
The narrative of the discussion of questions between
Charles the Second and the Massachusetts Bay
Court resumed;
summary of facts; questions at issue
178
-
On receiving the report of his Commissioners, who had
been rejected by the Massachusetts Bay Court,
the King
orders agents to be sent to England to answer before
the King in Council to the complaints
made against the
Government of the Colony
179
-
Meetings and proceedings of the Massachusetts Bay Court
on the Royal Message; their address of
vindication and
entreaty to the King; and instead of sending agents, send
two large masts, and resolve to
send £1,000 to propitiate
the King
180
-
Loyalists in the Court and among the people, who maintain
the Royal authority
182
-
Complaints a pretext to perpetuate sectarian rule and
persecutions
183
-
Baptists persecuted by fine, imprisonment, &c., as late
as 1666 and 1669
(extract of Court proceedings in a note),
several years after the King had forbidden such intolerance
in Massachusetts
184
-
Statements of Hutchinson and Neal in regard to such
persecutions, and remonstrances by the
Rev. Drs. Owen and
T. Goodwin, and other Nonconformist ministers in England
185
-
Efforts by addresses, gifts, and compliance in some matters,
to propitiate the King's favour
186
-
Why the King desists for some years from further action
187
-
Complaints from neighbouring Colonists and individual
citizens, of invasion of rights, and persecutions
and
proscriptions by the Massachusetts Bay Government, awaken
at last the renewed attention of the
King's Government to
their proceedings; and the King addresses another letter,
July, 1679
(copy of the letter in a note)
187
-
Seven requirements of this letter just and reasonable,
and observed by all British Colonies at this day
188
-
Remarks on the unfair statements and unjust imputations
against the British Government of that day, by
Mr. Palfrey
and other New England historians
190
-
Nineteen years' evasions and disregard of the conditions
on which the King promised to perpetuate the
Charter;
strong and decisive letter from the King, September, 1680,
to the Massachusetts Bay Court,
which caused a special
meeting of the Court, the sending of agents to England, and
the passing of some
remedial Acts
193
-
Examples and proofs of the deceptive character of these
Acts, with measures to neutralize or prevent
them from
being carried intoeffect—such as the Navigation Act, Oath
of Allegiance, the Franchise,
Liberty of Worship, and
Persecution of Baptists and Quakers
195
-
Recapitulation; manner of extending the territory and
jurisdiction, so as to include Maine, part of
New
Hampshire, &c. (in a note); Mr. Bancroft's statement,
confirming the positions of this and
preceding
chapters as to the pretensions and conduct of the
Massachusetts Bay Government
200
-
Massachusetts during the last four years of Charles
the Second and the three years'
reign of James the Second,
from 1680 to 1689; the immediate causes and manner of
cancelling the first Charter.
204-220
-
Crisis approaching; the double game of Massachusetts Bay
Court played out; threat of a writ of
quo warranto
204
-
Proceedings of Massachusetts Bay Court; offer a bribe
to the King; bribe clerks of the Privy Council
205
-
The Massachusetts Bay Court refuse the proposed conditions
of perpetuating the Charter; refuse
submission to the
King on any conditions; determine to contest in a Court of
Law; agents restricted;
the King provoked
206
-
The Governor and a majority of the assistants or magistrates
vote in favour of submitting to the King's
decision; the
Ministers advise, and a majority of the deputies vote against it
208
-
A writ of quo warranto issued and sent, June and
July, 1683, summoning the Corporation of
Massachusetts Bay
to defend their acts against the complaints and charges
(thirteen in number) made
against them, but assuring the
inviolableness of private property, and offering to stay
legal proceedings
against the Corporation in case of their
submitting to the decision of the King, on the points
heretofore
required by his Majesty as conditions of
perpetuating the Charter
208
-
The Colony of Massachusetts Bay divided; origin of parties;
the Governor and a majority of the "Upper
Branch of the
Government" were the moderate or loyalist party; the majority
of the "House of Deputies,"
whose "elections were controlled
by the ministers," were the independence party;
violent language by
Dr. Increase Mather, whose appeal from
man to God was decided against him (in a note)
209
-
Resolutions of the two Houses of the Court on the subject
210
-
Notice to the Massachusetts Bay Court of the issue of
the writ of quo warranto, to answer to the
complaints
against them, received October, 1683; judgment given
July 1685, nearly two years afterwards
211
-
The questions at issue unfairly put to popular vote in
Massachusetts; remarks on Mr. Palfrey's account of
the
transactions
211
-
Results of the fall of the Charter; death of Charles
the Second; proclamation of the accession of James
the
Second; appointment of Joseph Dudley as Governor;
character of his seven months' government
212
-
Appointment of Andros as local Governor and
Governor-General; popular beginning of his government;
his tyranny; seized at Boston and sent prisoner to
England; acquitted on account of having obeyed
his
instructions
215
-
Toleration first proclaimed in Massachusetts by
James the Second; thanked by the Massachusetts Bay
Court, and its agent in England, the Rev. Increase
Mather, for the proclamation which lost the King
the Crown
of England
216
-
Concluding review of the characteristics of the
fifty-four years' government of Massachusetts Bay
Government under the first Charter
217
-
Second Royal Charter, and the Government of
Massachusetts under it from 1691 to
1748; the close
of the First War between England and France, and the
Peace of
Aix-la-Chapelle.
221-241
-
Retrospect; reasons assigned by Mr. Palfrey why
the Massachusetts Bay Government did not make
armed resistance against "the fall of the first
Charter," and remarks upon them
221
-
The Government of Massachusetts Bay continued two
years after "the fall of the Charter," as if
nothing
had happened
226
-
They promptly proclaim King James the Second;
take the oath of allegiance to him; send the
Rev. Increase
Mather as agent to thank his
Majesty for his proclamation of indulgence,
to pray for the restoration of the
first Charter,
and for the removal of Sir Edmund Andros; King
James grants several friendly audiences,
but
does nothing
226
-
On the dethronement of James the Second, Dr. Increase
Mather pays his homage to the new King, with
professions (no doubt sincere) of overflowing
loyalty to him (in a note)
226
-
Unsuccessful efforts of Dr. Increase Mather to
obtain the restoration of the first Charter, though
aided by
the Queen, Archbishop Tillotson, Bishop
Burnet, the Presbyterian clergy, and others
228
-
How the second Charter was prepared and granted; Dr.
Increase Mather first protests against, and then
gratefully accepts the Charter; nominates the first
Governor, Sir William Phips
229
-
Nine principal provisions of the new Charter
233
-
Puritan legal opinions on the defects of the first
Charter, the constant violation of it by the
Massachusetts Bay Government, and the unwisdom of
its restoration (in a note)
233
-
A small party in Boston opposed to accepting the new
Charter; Judge Story on the salutary influence of
the
new Charter on the legislation and progress of the Colony
235
-
Happy influence of the new Charter upon toleration,
loyalty, peace and unity of society in
Massachusetts—proofs
237
-
The spirit of the old leaven of bigotry still surviving;
and stung with the facts of Neal's History of New
England on "the persecuting principles and practices of
the first planters," a remarkable letter from the
Rev.
Dr. Isaac Watts, dated February 19, 1720, addressed to the
Rev. Dr. Cotton Mather, explanatory
of Neal's History, and
urging the formal repeal of the "cruel and sanguinary
statutes" which had been
passed by the Massachusetts
Bay Court under the first Charter (in a note)
239
-
Happiness and progress of Massachusetts during seventy
years under the second Charter
240
-
Debts incurred by the New England Colonies in the
Indian Wars; issue of paper money; how Massachusetts
was relieved by England, and made prosperous
240
-
Massachusetts and other Colonies during the Second
War between Great Britain
and France, from the Peace
of Aix-la-Chapelle, 1748, to the Peace of Paris, 1763.
242-279
-
Places taken during the war between France and England
mutually restored at the Peace of
Aix-la-Chapelle;
Louisburg and Cape Breton restored to France, in return
for Madras restored
to England
242
-
Boundaries in America between France and England to
be defined by a joint Commission, which could
not agree
242
-
Encroachments of the French on the British Colonies
from 1748 to 1756; complaints of the Colonial
Governors
to England; orders to them to defend their territories;
conflicts between the Colonies,
French and Indians
243
-
England's best if not only means of protecting the
Colonies, to prevent the French from transporting
soldiers
and war material to Canada; naval preparations
244
-
Evasive answers and disclaimers of the French
Government, with naval and military preparations
245
-
Braddock's unfortunate expedition; capture of French
vessels, soldiers, &c., (in a note)
247
-
The King's speech to Parliament on French encroachments;
convention of Colonies at Albany, and its representatives,
a year before war was declared
247
-
Mr. Bancroft's imputation against the British Government,
and reply to it (in a note)
247
-
Mr. Bancroft represents this war as merely European;
refuted by himself; his noble representations
of the
Protestant character of the war on the part of Great
Britain and other Powers
248
-
Contests chiefly between the Colonists, the French,
and the Indians, from 1648 to 1654; English
soldiers
under General Braddock sent to America in 1655; campaigns
actual and devised that year;
Massachusetts active; Sir
William Johnson's victory over the French General, Dieskau
250
-
War formally declared by England and France in 1756;
French successes in 1755, 1756, and 1757
252
-
Parliament votes £115,000 sterling to compensate
the Colonies for expenses incurred by them
252
-
Arrival of the Earl of Loudon from England with troops,
as Commander-in-Chief
252
-
Capture of Forts Oswego and William Henry by the
French General, Montcalm
253
-
Dispute between the Earl of Loudon and the Massachusetts
Court, in regard to the Mutiny Act,
and quartering
the troops upon the citizens
255
-
Alarming situation of affairs at the close of the year 1757
255
-
Divided counsels and isolated resources and action of
the Colonies
257
-
General Abercrombie arrives with more troops, and
forty German officers to drill and command
regiments
to be raised in America (which gave offence to the Colonists)
257
-
The Governor of Virginia recommends Washington, but
his services are not recognized
257
-
Generals Abercrombie and Loudon at Albany hesitate
and delay, while the French generals are active
and successful
258
-
The Earl of Loudon's arbitrary conduct in quartering
his officers and troops in Albany and New York
(in a note)
258
-
Loudon never fought a battle in America; and in the only
battle fought by Abercrombie, he was
disgracefully defeated
by Montcalm, though commanding the largest army which had
ever been
assembled in America. Among the slain in this
battle was the brave General, Lord Howe, the
favourite
of the army and citizens
259
-
The Massachusetts Court appropriate £250 sterling to
erect a monument in Westminster Abbey in
honour of Lord Howe
260
-
Abercrombie—the last of the incompetent English
Generals—recalled, and succeeded by
Lord Amherst as
Commander-in-Chief, assisted by General Wolfe, when,
under the Premiership of
the elder Pitt, the whole policy
and fortunes of the war undergo a complete change
260
-
Colonel Bradstreet's brilliant achievement in taking
and destroying Fort Frontenac
261
-
Lord Amherst plans three expeditions, all of which
were successful
261
-
Louisburg besieged and taken; heroism of General Wolfe;
great rejoicings
262
-
Admiral Boscawen returns to England; Lord Amherst's
energetic movements
262
-
Niagara taken; Fort du Quesne taken, and called Pittsburg;
Ticonderoga and Crown Point taken;
Quebec taken
263
-
Attempt of the French to recover Quebec
266
-
Parliamentary compensation to Massachusetts (in a note)
267
-
Montreal besieged and taken, and all Canada surrendered
to the King of Great Britain, through Lord
Amherst
267
-
General Amherst's address to the army (in a note)
268
-
The war not closed; conquests in the West Indies;
troubles with the Indians; reduction of the Cherokees
269
-
Treaty of Paris; general rejoicings
269
-
Massachusetts benefited by the war
270
-
Moneys provided by England for the war abstracted
from England and expended in the Colonies
270
-
Grateful acknowledgments and avowed loyalty to England
by Massachusetts; the language and feelings
of the other
Colonies the same
271
-
Relation of England and the Colonies with each other
and with Foreign Countries.
273-279
-
I. The position of England in respect to the other
European Powers after the Peace of Paris, 1763
273
-
II. The position of the American Colonies, in regard
to England and other nations, after the Peace
of Paris
in 1763
274
-
III. Effects of the change of policy by the English
Government in regard to the Colonies
277
-
IV. First acts of the British Government which caused
dissatisfaction and alienation in the Colonies
279
-
The Stamp Act; its effects in America; Virginia leads
the Opposition to it; riots and
destruction of property in
Boston; petitions against the Stamp Act in England;
repeal
of the Stamp Act; rejoicings at its repeal in England and
America; the
Declaratory Act.
283-293
-
Containing extracts of the celebrated speeches of
Mr. Charles Townsend and Colonel Barré on
passing the
Stamp Act
294
-
Remarks on the speeches of the Right Honourable Mr.
Townsend and Colonel Barré; Puritan
treatment of the Indians
296
-
Containing the speeches of Lords Chatham and Camden
on the Stamp Act and its repeal
302
-
Dr. Franklin's evidence at the Bar of the House of Commons
308
-
Authority of Parliament over the British Colonies.
317-322
-
Summary of Events from the Repeal of the Stamp Act,
March, 1766, to the end of
the year.
323-328
-
1767.—A New Parliament; first Act against the
Province of New York; Billeting
soldiers on the Colonies.
329-336
-
Raising a revenue by Act of Parliament in the Colonies
330
-
Three Bills brought in, and passed by Parliament, to
raise a revenue in the Colonies
331
-
Vice-Admiralty Courts and the Navy employed as custom-house
officers
334
-
The effect of these Acts and measures in the Colonies
335
-
Events of 1768.—Protests and Loyal Petitions of the
Colonists against the English Parliamentary Acts for
raising revenues in the Colonies.
337-352
-
Petition to the King
337
-
Noble circular of the Massachusetts Legislative
Assembly to the Assemblies of the other Colonies,
on
the unconstitutional and oppressive Acts of the British
Parliament
338
-
This circular displeasing to the British Ministry, and
strongly condemned by it in a circular from the
Earl of
Hillsborough
341
-
Admirable and patriotic reply of the Virginia House of
Burgesses to the Massachusetts circular
342
-
Similar replies from the Legislative Assemblies of
other Colonies
343
-
Excellent answer of the General Assembly of Maryland to
a message of the Governor on the same subject
344
-
The effects of Lord Hillsborough's circular letter to the
Colonial Governors
345
-
Experiment of the newly asserted power of Parliament to
tax and rule the Colonies, commended at
Boston and in
Massachusetts
348
-
Three causes for popular irritation; seizures; riotous
resistance; seven hundred soldiers landed, and
required to
be provided for, which was refused; the Provincial Assembly
and its proceedings; ships of
war in Boston Harbour
348
-
Events of 1769.—Unjust imputations of Parliament on
the loyalty of the Colonists,
and misrepresentations of
their just and loyal petitions.
353-363
-
Manly response to these imputations on the part of the
Colonists, and their assertion of British
constitutional
rights, led by the General Assembly of Virginia
355
-
Dissolution of Colonial Assemblies; agreements for the
non-importation of British manufactured
goods entered
into by the Colonists
356
-
The General Assembly of Massachusetts refuse to legislate
under the guns of a land and naval force;
Governor
Barnard's reply
357
-
Proceedings of the Governor and House of Assembly on
quartering troops in Boston
358
-
Governor Barnard's recall and character (in a note)
359
-
Origin of the non-importation agreement in New York;
sanctioned by persons in the highest stations;
union of
the Colonies planned
360
-
Sons of Governors Barnard and Hutchinson refuse to enter
into the non-importation agreement
360
-
They were at length compelled to yield; humiliating
position of the soldiers in Boston; successful
resistance
of the importation of British goods
360
-
Joy in the Colonies by a despatch from Lord Hillsborough
promising to repeal the obnoxious
Revenue Acts, and to
impose no more taxes on the Colonies
361
-
The duty of threepence per pound on tea excepted
363
-
Events of 1770.—An eventful epoch.—Expectations
of reconciliation and union
disappointed.
364-373
-
Collisions between the soldiers and inhabitants in Boston
365
-
The soldiers insulted and abused
365
-
The Boston Massacre; the soldiers acquitted by a Boston jury
365
-
The payment of official salaries independent of the
Colonies another cause of dissatisfaction
366
-
What had been claimed by the old American Colonies contended
for in Canada, and granted,
to the satisfaction and progress
of the country
367
-
Lord North's Bill to repeal the Colonial Revenue Acts,
except the duty on tea, which he refused to
repeal until
"America should be prostrate at his feet"
368
-
Governor Pownall's speech and amendment to repeal the
duty on tea, rejected by a majority of 242
to 204
369
-
Associations in the Colonies against the use of tea
imported from England
370
-
The tea duty Act of Parliament virtually defeated in America
370
-
The controversy revived and intensified by the agreement
between Lord North and the East India
Company, to remit
the duty of a shilling in the pound on all teas exported
by it to America, where the
threepence duty on the pound
was to be collected
371
-
Combined opposition of English and American merchants,
and the Colonists from New Hampshire to
Georgia, against
this scheme
372
-
Events of 1771, 1772, 1773.—The East India Company's
tea rejected in every province of
America; not a chest of
its tea sold; resolutions of a public meeting in Philadelphia
on the subject, the model for those of other Colonies.
374-387
-
The Governor, Hutchinson, of Massachusetts, and his
sons (the consignees), alone determined to
land the tea
at Boston
376
-
The causes and affair of throwing the East India Company's
tea into the Boston Harbour, as stated on
both sides
377
-
The causes and the disastrous effect of the arrangement
between the British Ministry and the East India
Company
381
-
The King the author of the scheme; His Majesty's
condemnation of the petitions and remonstrances from
the Colonies (in a note)
382
-
Governor Hutchinson's proceedings, and his account of
the transactions at Boston
383
-
His vindication of himself, and description of his
pitiable condition
383
-
Remarks on the difference between his conduct and that of
the Governors of other provinces
387
-
Events of 1774.—All classes in the Colonies
discontented; all classes and all the
provinces reject
the East India Company's tea.
388-402
-
Opposition to the tea duty represented in England as
"rebellion," and the advocates of colonial rights
designated "rebels" and "traitors"
388
-
Three Acts of Parliament against the inhabitants of
Boston and of Massachusetts, all infringing and
extinguishing the heretofore acknowledged constitutional
rights and liberties of the people
389
-
Debates in Parliament, and misrepresentations of the
English press on American affairs
390
-
Lord North explains the American policy; the Bill to
punish the town of Boston; petitions against it from
the
agent of Massachusetts and the city of London; debates on
it in the Commons and Lords
394
-
Distress of Boston; addresses of sympathy, and contributions
of relief from other towns and provinces;
generous conduct
of the inhabitants of Massachusetts and Salem
395
-
The second penal Bill against Massachusetts, changing
the constitution of the government of the province
396
-
Third penal Bill for the immunity of governors,
magistrates, and other public officers in Massachusetts
396
-
The fourth Act of Parliament, legalizing the quartering
of the troops in Boston
397
-
The effects of these measures in the Colonies the reverse
of what their authors and advocates had
anticipated; all
the Colonies protest against them
397
-
General Gage's arrival in Boston, and courteous reception,
as successor to Governor Hutchinson—his
character (in a note)
398
-
Meeting of the Massachusetts Legislature; adjournment to
Salem; their respectful, loyal, but firm reply
to the
Governor's speech; his bitter answer
399
-
Courteous, loyal, and patriotic answer of the Assembly
to the Governor's speech
400
-
The House of Assembly proceed with closed doors, and
adopt, by a majority of 92 to 12, resolutions
declaring
the necessity of a meeting of all the Colonies to consult
together upon the present state of the
Colonies
401
-
Curious dissolution of the last Legislature held in
the Province of Massachusetts, according to the tenor
of
its Charter (in a note)
401
-
1774, Continued until the Meeting of the First
General Congress in September.
403-408
-
Resolutions in all the Colonies in favour of a general
Convention or Congress, and election of
delegates to it
403
-
General sympathy and liberality on behalf of the town
of Boston
404
-
How information on subjects of agitation was rapidly
diffused throughout the Colonies
405
-
The Act of Parliament changing the Constitution of
Massachusetts without its consent gave rise to
the
American Revolution; the authority of that Act never
acknowledged in Massachusetts
407
-
General Congress or Convention at Philadelphia,
September and October, 1774.
409-421
-
The word Congress "defined"
409
-
Each day's proceedings commenced with prayer; each
Province allowed but one vote
410
-
The members of the Congress and their constituents
throughout the Colonies thoroughly loyal,
while
maintaining British constitutional rights
410
-
The declaration of rights and grievances by this
Congress (in a note)
411
-
The explicit, loyal, and touching address and petition of
this Congress to the King
414
-
Manly and affectionate appeal to the British nation
416
-
The address of the members of the Congress to their
constituents—a temperate and lucid exposition
of their
grievances and sentiments
417
-
Reasons for giving a summary and extracts of these
addresses of the first General Congress
418
-
General elections in England hastened; adverse to the Colonies
419
-
The King's speech at the opening of the new Parliament,
the 30th of November, and answers of both
Houses
419
-
Opposition in both Houses; protest in the Lords
420
-
The proceedings of the first American Congress reach
England before the adjournment of Parliament for
the
Christmas holidays, and produce an impression favourable
to the Colonies; hopes of a change of the
Ministerial policy in regard to the Colonies
420
(1775.)
-
The re-assembling of Parliament the 20th of January;
letters from Colonial
Governors, revenue and military officers,
against the Colonists opposed to the
Ministerial Policy and
the Parliamentary Acts; the Ministry, supported by
Parliament,
determine upon continuing and strengthening the coercive policy
against the Colonies.
422-432
-
The Earl of Chatham's amendment and speech in the Lords,
against the coercive policy of the
Ministry and in behalf
of Colonial rights, supported by other Lords and
numerous politicians
423
-
Lord Suffolk in favour of coercion; Lord Camden against it,
and in favour of the rights of the
Colonies; Lord Chatham
and others denounced by the King (in a note)
424
-
The amendment negatived by a majority of 68 to 18; but the
King's own brother, the Duke of
Cumberland, was one of the
minority; yet the King boasted of the "handsome majority" in
support
of his coercive policy
425
-
The Earl of Chatham's bill "to settle the troubles in
America," not allowed a first reading in the
Lords
425
-
Petitions from various towns in England, Scotland, and
Ireland against the American policy of
the ministry
425
-
Petition to the Commons from Dr. Franklin, Mr. Bollan,
and Mr. Lee, Colonial agents, praying to
be heard at
the bar of the House in support of the petition of the
American Continental Congress,
rejected by a
majority of 218 to 68
426
-
Dr. Franklin's dismissal from office; his success in
office; his sentiments on the rejection of
the petitions
of the Colonies and punishment of their agents (in a note)
426
-
Lord North's resolution for an address (given entire) to
the King, endorsing the coercive policy,
and denouncing
complaints and opposition to it in America as "rebellion"
426
-
Remarks on the gross inaccuracies and injustice and
empty promises of this address
428
-
Debates in the Commons on Lord North's address to the King
429
-
Mr. Fox's amendment to Lord North's address rejected by a
majority of 304 to 105
430
-
Second great debate on Lord North's warlike resolution for an
address to the King, and Lord John
Cavendish's amendment to
it; speakers on both sides
430
-
Lord North's address, made the joint address of both Houses
of Parliament, presented to the King,
with His Majesty's reply
431
-
Remarks on the King's reply, and the proceedings of Parliament
in respect to the Colonies
431
-
The Ministry and Parliament virtually declare war against the
Colonies
432
[Pg xxi]
(1775, Continued.)
-
Parliament proceeds to pass an Act to punish the New
England Colonies for
sympathising with Massachusetts, by
restricting their trade to England and
depriving them of
the Newfoundland Fisheries.
433-441
-
Parliament passes a second Act to punish in the same way
all the Colonies, for the same reason
as those of the New
England Colonies, except New York, Delaware, North Carolina;
these
Provinces decline the exception
433
-
Much expected from the General Assembly of New York, which
had not endorsed the first
Continental Congress; the
Assembly meets and adopts a petition and remonstrances on
the
grievances of all the Colonies, including Massachusetts;
this address, adopted as late as May, 1775,
a Loyal United
Empire Document; extracts from this admirable and statesmanlike
address
434
-
Mr. Burke, in a conciliatory speech, proposes to present
this memorial to the House of Commons
437
-
Lord North opposes it
438
-
Mr. Fox defends it, and moves against its rejection
438
-
Governor Johnstone justifies the reception of it by example
439
-
Lord North's amendment to reject the petition adopted by a
majority of 186 to 67
439
-
The memorial, after debate, rejected by the House of Lords
440
-
Reflections of the royal historian on the effect upon the
public mind in England from the rejection of the
New York
Assembly's appeal by both Houses of Parliament (in a note)
440
-
The Colonists still persist in hopes of reconciliation and
the maintenance of their constitutional rights,
without
entertaining a thought of independence
441
(1775, Continued.)
-
The second Continental Congress in America.
442-458
-
The second Continental Congress meets at Philadelphia,
in the month of September
442
-
Number and character of its members
442
-
Their credentials and instructions to seek remedies for
grievances, but not separation from the
Mother Country;
mode of proceeding
443
-
Noble and affectionate petition to the King
443
-
This petition read in the House of Commons the 7th of
December, 1775, but rejected
444
-
Penn, the agent of the Congress, not asked a question
when he presented the petition, and was
refused an
interview by the King (in a note)
444
-
The King's answer a proclamation declaring the petition
"rebellion" and the petitioners "rebels"
445
-
The effect of this proclamation upon the Continental
Congress, and of the accompanying announcement,
that the
army and navy were to be greatly increased, and seventeen
thousand mercenary soldiers from
Hanover and Hesse were
to be engaged to bring the Colonists to absolute submission
446
-
Refusal of English Generals and soldiers to fight against
the Colonists (in a note)
446
-
Bombardment and burning of Falmouth (now Portland) by
Captain Mowat, of the British navy
(two accounts of
it, in a note)
446
-
The large majority of the Congress yet opposed to
independence, but were unanimously in favour
of energetic
measures for the defence of their constitutional rights
448
-
Tom Paine's appeal to the Colonists, called Common Sense,
the first publication in America
against monarchy
450
-
But the majority of the Congress opposed to republicanism
450
-
The exact time when the leading men of the Colonies
conceived the measure of independence not
certainly known
451
-
Prompted by the now-known King's own personal acts and
hostility to the American Colonists
451
-
Deprecated by South Carolina in May, 1775, after the bloody
affair of Concord and Lexington (in a note)
451
-
Disclaimed by Dr. Franklin in 1773
452
-
Disclaimed by Washington and Jefferson until after the
middle of the year 1775
453
-
Though urged by President Dwight (of Yale), discountenanced
by leading New Englanders in July, 1775
453
-
Retrospect of events and position of affairs between
Great Britain and the Colonies at the close
of the year 1775
454
(The Year 1775 and beginning of 1776.)
-
An eventful year; preparation in England to reduce
Colonists to absolute submission; self-asserted authority
of Parliament.
459-478
-
Oppressive Acts of Parliament enumerated, with the
measures of employing foreign soldiers, Indians,
and
slaves; and all with the express sanction of the King,
and while Colonists professed loyalty,
and asked for
nothing but the redress of grievances and restoration
of rights which they had
heretofore enjoyed
459
-
The loyalty and effective services of the Colonists
in the English and French war, and the experience
and
skill they thereby acquired in military affairs;
their superiority as marksmen
460
-
They desire to provide for their own defence, and
for the support of their own civil government, as
aforetime, and as is done in the provinces of the
Canadian Dominion, but this is opposed by
the King and
his ministers
460
-
General Gage (Governor of Massachusetts, and
Commander-in-Chief of the British in America)
commences the first attack upon the Colonists, by
ordering soldiers at night to seize Colonial arms
and ammunition; sends 800 soldiers to Conco