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NOTICES OF some CONTEMPORARY CHARACTERS AND EVENTS
TBQU THE TEAR 1760 TO 1775.
BY WILLIAM TUDOR,
B08T0H:
HELLS AND ULLT— COURT-STREET.
1833.
Gift of ; Doc. ii4> it,i>4
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DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS, U wtt :
Dittrkt Clerffi Offiee,
BE fT REMEMBKRKD. thai on th* iwiiititlJi (iaj «ir Jjiiuiary, A. ^^*5*'-S tV iortT-if™nh WW I liM lrafc«*rnii«iw ef itw Vf^Kn-^ Stiff ■ (jf Amrtit*. w«llafinB Lilh of Thf 9ik) I>nrHff. hnvi d* potk.^l in tlik OBIct (W TitV ni ■ Boot, tHt KipR nrhifrof thrv clfcins lu Propntror* m iI*l WujiI^ fol Imping fo wi* ; ^ . _
Tb^ Lift of Jamr« Oiw, of Mft«ar1iuHiti \ CnittamiiiK fti«o, NiH^cci oT *om? ccnt^
1i^ Cmfocoiiiv to life Acl Df ih* Cohjct™ tif ibf- Uniii^ Slai^^, finiiM ^*J"* the t^«ijrmi::iiiitiit of U-umiiiS, tij i€T«n«^ ibi- Capic* of Mapt. Chyn* *°^r^°*°^ lo br Authun mkI Prdiiri.4on "f iuch rojwi, dutinp the Titta^ ''^''Ti* ^"-1 jSTft- •lid at»D to Mil Acf *ptltl*d. ** An Ati iupplCTvinjtJffj t^ an A^S. ™J:J^™; Vli iSjoL tih' piMwir^Eifneiit of U*mUifi. In itTimnpr tlK Co|u(i of Map*, t^iiirt*, M° "<~» to tlM- Auihw* aid PjtjprWtin oi mcli Copii* ilurinir the Iiulli iI* nin "'f^^SSSLi uid t^irtidiiit liu Btnefii* Uwwl tt Uw Aruiif Dtfipmw. &. cniv tup. if* *»««»«
Clerk ^ the Dt9trkt if Matmfmmi.
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. PREFACE --.- »a
CHAPTBBJL
Introductory Remarks— Origin of the Otli Family— Birth and Education of James Otis ---------------------------- 1
CHAPTER U.
His Preparation for the Study of Law — Letter on that Subject — His En- trance into the Profession— I4ter|irj Pursuits — Two PriTatle Letters— His Marriage and Family — Professional Anecdotes ..-.-.---- 9
CHAPTER III.
Extracts from the Professional Correspondence of Otis --.-----• 30
CHAPTER .IV.
Political Situation of Massachusetts — GoTemor Shirley — Lieutenant Go- vernor Phippe — Ooremor Powual — Lieutenant Governor Hutchinson —Appointment of Governor Bernard — Colonial monopoly ------ 97
CHAPTER V.
Application for Writs of Assistance — Hutchinson appointed Chief Justice — Dissatisfaction of Otis — Chief Justice Pratt — Oxenbridge Thacher — Opening of the Cause of the Writs of Assistance by Gridley and Thacher 92
CSAPTER yi.
Otis's Speech in the Cause of the Writs of AssisUnce -- 6t
CHAPTER VII.
Results of the Cause of <* Writs of Assistance^— Otis chosen into the Ltf»gislature — Anecdotes on that Subject— Thomas Cushing— Governor Bamard^s allusions to the late Trial ..-.-...--------- •$
•^ J
iy CONTENTS-
CHAPTER VIII.
Qnestioa relating to the Currency— Otis and Hutchinmn take diSitent sides — Extracts from Otis's Essays — Letter from Bewail to Paine, and answer— Jonathan Sewall— Kobert Treat Paine .,--.•--...- 99
CHAPTER IX.
«
Choice of a Colony Agent — Message of GoTcrnor Bernard respecting Troops, and importanr discussion — ^Answer of the Le^slature drawn by Oti»— Objections to it by the OoTernor— Otis's Vindication and extracts from it ----- - 114
CHAPTER X. .
Jealousy respecting Episcopacy — Controversy on this subject— Dr. May hew — Dr. Apthorp— Dr^rCbauncy — Dr. i'ooper — Dr. Byles ------ 136
CHAPTER XL
Question respecting the salary of the Attorney General — Edmund Trow- bridge— The Acto of Trade— Instructions to the Agent— Otis' <« Rights of the Colonies** — Choice of an Agent — Inactivity of Otis — Motives of his Conduct >- - 161
CHAPTER XII.
Suggestions for a Representation of the Colonies in Parliament — Otis's Answer to the Halifax Libel — His Letter to a Noble Lord— Extracts from that Work --- 186
CHAPTER XIII.
Origin of the Plan for Taxing America — Conduct of Parliament— Influ- ence of the King — Dr. Franklin's Opinions of Colonial Grants— Agency of the Crown Officers 200
CHAPTER XIV. The Sump Act Congress proposed— Kioto in Boston— Liberty Tree - - - 213
CHAPTER XV.
The Stamp Act Congress— Opposite Principles of the Massachusetts Dele- fatet— Brigadier Buggies— Message of Governor Bernard --XM
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XVL
Anfiy flpeeeh of Governor Bernard — Answer of the Honte— Vimleiit at- tacks upon Otis — Messages and Answers respecting Counsellors— Mes- sage and Answer on the repeal of the Stamp Act — Question of compen- sation to the sullerers by the riots — First opening of galleries for the public ----------------------------*--- S36
CHAPTER XVII. Joeeph Hawley— John Hancock — Samuel Adams -•--..-..... 353
CHAPTER XVIH.
Question regarding compensation to the suflferers by the Riots— Commit- tee to inquire about Proclamations — Opposition to the Lieutenant Go* vemor's act in the Council — ^ArriTul of a small body of Troops - - - - 378
CHAPTER XIX.
New Duties Imposed — ^Board of Commissioners Established — Town- meetings on these Subjects— Committee of the Legislature on Public Affairs— Eatracu from their Report .-...-• ......28S
CHAPTER XX.
The ** Circular Letter"— Requisition for the Ministry to rescind it— Re- fusal of the Legislature — Dissolved in consequence by the Ooyemor — Passages from the Speeches of Otis .---....-..--.-•-- 313
CHAPTER XXI.
Seizures by the Commisioners— Town-meeting — ^Arrival of the Troop^^ Feelings of the people— Refusal of the inhabitants te join in amuse- menu with the Crown officers — Meeting of the Legislature in 1768 — Proceedings relatiTe te the army in Boston — Legislature adjourned to Cambridge — Protest — Answer te the GoTemor's requisitions— Recall of Governor Bernard— >Hi8 administration -------------.-- 328
CHAPTER XXII.
Speeches of Otis— Anecdote of him and fragment of a Letter — Calumnies against him by the Crown Officers — Advertisement — Assault upon him— Consequences of his wounds — Gives up the damages — Town Meeting and VindicatioB of the Town of Boston 364
coimarrs.
CHAPTER XXIII.
The L«giilMiirt ftgrntn Mnnbbd at Ca«brid«t tei ITfO^f mteH-*iU* moMtrance agatMt tlie amf m Botton-^^Maisacn of 5Ui of Mareb^^ Conduct of tbe CiriMf—Troopg removtd to tho CaiUe--OafiaiD Preso ton aoquitled«-Vote of thanfce of the Town of Bofiton to Otis in 1770— James Bowdoin chosen in his place— Otte elected for the last time \m 1771 — He withdraws from his profession — Anecdote of him ------ 36t
CHAPTER XXIV.
Dr. Franklin chosen Agent — Remarks on certain Points of his Character 386
CHAPTER XXV.
GoTeroor HotdiiiMoiiV nessafos to lk<roar of Pailiameatarsr supsfiiry —Answers of the Lefislatur»— Anival of the Tea'*-Prooeedings of th« Inhabitants of Boston— Destruction of the Tea ---..-.----- 406
CHAPTER XXVI.
The imercepiod leMtrs of iftie Governor and othero Hie recall— Charac- ter of Gorernor Hutchinson ••• — -*-, .•^•*..*.^.^. 4^
CHAPTER XXVII.
TerminatieB of the BHitisli awthocity in Maeaswhusetts in Maf 1774— Vindictim MeaMres afaiast that Province— Mandaflitts Counsellors^. Boston Port Bill and Acts in Comiectiosi with i^-^kaie of fWblic Feel- ing at this Epoch -..------------------------- 434
CHAPTER XXVIII. Character and l^sculiar CircunMianoeB of the People o^ Bopton -*«.-. 441
CHAPTER XXIX.
Pnceedings of General Gage— History of Ae two f>ieees -of aitiUerf caUf ed the ** Hancock and Adams" — ^Approach of hostilities — Anecdotes — General Warren— Battle (tf BnnkBr fliH— Colonel frescott 452
CHAPTER XXX.
Aneodotefl-of OlIsaAer the clow of -his pvUac enrenr— His Meidttiioe^ Andovei^-Last ^isit to Boston — Aetarn to Aadover— HonAflkstUe deatlH-His character .------------•----------- 474
2
yrtfure
jL fit period of lime under review in this Tolame^ IB one of the most remarkable in the political histo- ly of the world. The transactions of that epoch owe their importance, not so much to their indivi- dual magnitude or splendour, as to their prospective character, and inevitable consequences. The minds of men were every where excited to investigarte their civil and political condition ; ancient abuses be- gan to \ose that sanction which a blind, hereditary reverence had long given them ; and the intelligent citizens of eveiy nation became convinced that they possessed certain indefeisible rights, of which they had been forcibly deprived in ages of ignorance and barbarism, and which were now withheld by a claim of prescription, founded on that very usurpa- tion. The struggle that ensued from this revival, produced the American revolution first, and after- wards that of Prance. These great events were W^[nalized by actions and results, as different as were
TiM PREFACE.
the circumstances of the two countries in which thej occurred. But the spirit of the age still advances ; it visits every region where commerce, intelligence, and enterprize can penetrate, and will be sooner or later universally triumphant. The unholy purposes of the Holy Alliance may effect some partial and momentary checks, but the re-action will be proper- tionate* Even the unfortunate Italians, overwhelm- ed for a time, and forced to renounce their scheme of reformation, while they look at Spain, Portugal, and Greece, may exclaim with their countryman Galileo, rising from his recantation, Pero si mnove ! It moves notwithstanding ! Even among nations that are farthest in the rear in this course of ameliora- tion, there are some individuals who believe that governments are made for the peo[de, and not the people for governments. The great principle which originates and secures all liberty and social improve- ment, the principle of representation, is now the wish of every country, and it will be finally obtained, unless all example of its advantages be effaced from the earth.
The spirit which predommates in particular eras among civflized nations, will often be promoted, at the same moment, by incidents that have no striking similarity, and which are entirely disconnected with each Qther. Thus, about the same time that Otis ar-^
PREFACE. ix
gued the cause of the Writs of Jissistane^^ and wrote / his Vindication of the Massachusetts Legislature, Rousseau published his Social Contract. The novel- ties, the mixture of truth and extravagance, and the glowing eloquence with which these were convejed in that celebrated performance, made it generally read on the continent of Europe, and tended in a very remarkable degree to excite the disposition on that continent to examine and reform political institutions, by which, after the lapse of a generation, some of them were riven to their foundations. The animated arguments of Otis, awakened at the same moment, a dose and attentive watchfulness in America of every ^ movement of government ; and united the idea ot taxation and representation, inseparably, in the mind of every citizen.
It so happened, from the plan of the British mii>> istry in their experiment of taxing the colonies, that the attention of the people of En^and was strongly directed to the discussions in this country. The question was to be first settled here, and the friends of liberty, or the followers of arbitrary principles, equally watched this scene of action. Their sym- pathy was actively shewn by the clamors that were made, with partial success, for relief from the accu* mulated abuses that crushed the people of Ireland ; and a similar feeling originated the questions of par-
X PR£FA(!R,
liamentary reform, which so many eminent men have from that time to the present, successively attempted and relinquished in En^and. This long and momen- tous struggle began in Massachusetts, and her capHal witnessed most of the leading measures, till it termi* nated in actual war. There, the innovations project** ed bj the ministry, inflicted the greatest injury; there, the most active and able of their partisans were stationed, and the main body of their forces was concentrated ; there in fine, from various circum- stances, the ministry and the sovereign resolved ** to try the question.^'
It was, therefore, in the British North American colonies, and especially in Massachusetts, that the statesmen and the politicians of England, were occu* pied, in the attack and defence of the opposite max- ims of government, which they had adopted.
From 1763 to 1775, Massachusetts was the scene where all the dearest interests of the colonists were most powerfully assailed, and to which the public characters of America and England looked with deep solicitude. It was the system attempted to be en^ forced here, which was to destroy or to establish principles of the widest bearing, and the most lasting importance.
The question concerning the rights of the colonies^ directly affected the interests of the whole empire.
PREFACE. x>
It was the defence of these rights that ei^aged the purest and highest minds in the mother country^ in a long series of efforts. It was in this cause, that in either branch of the British senate, the finest models of eloquence were produced which modem timca can boast ; and it was in the support of these rights, that the greatest statesman of his time, with the truest foresight, wisdom, and magnanimity exclaimr ed, «" / thank God that Jmerica has resisted T'
It is difficult to repress enthusiasm in considerii^ the conduct of the men, who opposed the arbitrary des^ns of the British ministry, and who in a great crisis of human affairs, had the sagacity and firmness to discover and maintain the right course. Our ad- miration is the greater, because their conduct origir Dated, not so much from the feeling of actual oppres- sion, as from a true foresight of the intolerable evils, that would be the future consequences of prece* dents which were the more to be feared, as they were insidiously and plausibly introduced. Their resistance too, was made from the highest convic- tions of duty, *and as the event proved, with an ex- aggerated, yet not unnatural apprehension, of all the dangers that might have occurred from the contest.
Nor should this admiration be confined to Ameri- cans, but may be justly felt by liberal men of every country, since it was the cause of all mankind. Even
lii fREFACE-
high-miixled Englishmen may regard the termina* tion with complacency ; while the regret they must feel, will not be, that their government was foiled in the attempt, but that it was ever undertaken. Unquestionably, the greatest statesmen, and a very choice, though not numerous part of the nation, felt it to be a civil war, io which they took side with the party oppressed. The results, contrary indeed to expectation, have been so advantageous to Eng* land, that none but the most slavish bigot to arbi- trary government, can do otherwise than rejoice at them.
It never fell to the lot of a braver, more humane, or more virtuous peo[>le to contend in a cause, that would ultimately effect the condition of every coun- try. Their leaders were fitted for the station that was assigned to them, and when in after times, their inextinguishable principles and unfadrog example, shall make their destined way throi^out the world, they will be revered by future ages among the general benefactors of mankind.
Even now, though placed too near their colossal merit to discern all its excellent proportions, some idea may be formed of their value, by considerii^ the miserable scenes of rapine, cruelty, fickleness, and apostacy, that have been exhibited by the vari- ous actors in revolutions before the eyes of the pre*
PREFACE. xitt
sCTt generatioa The revolutionary patriots of America were courageous, moderate, plain, and in- corruptible, and imbued with a deep sense of reli* gion, which guided and guaranteed all their conduct Thej were, in fact, " the men of Plutarch," f(M*med m a school c^ primitive simjJicity and unyielding (Nrincifde, which made them the ornaments of their own age, and will secure to them the admiration of posterity.
To those persons who have not fully examined the events and the characters that prepared the Amerir can revolution, this anticipation may seem too con- fident, perhaps extravagant. But if they will trace back the currents of public opinion on all subjects of political reform and amelioration, they will find how many of them began their course on this continent, between the years 1760 and 1776 ; though their primary fountains must at last be sought in the re- formation, the commonwealth of England, and the English revolution. It will be found what vast con- sequences have followed the exertions of American patriotism, what excitement has been caused by its example, and bow much human happiness has been increased by its labours. When the considemtion of these high services shall be divested of all the envy and the familiarity of contemporaneous obser- vation, it is not difficult to imagine in what scale
J
Mir PREFACE.
thej will be placed, compared with the great ac^ tioDs of history. It is a quaint and trite remark, that DO man is a hero to his own servant, and on the same principle, the number of servile or of feeble minds, that fill up the ranks of society, can never overlook the petty infirmities which come within their scope of intellect ; and are quite incapable of estimating the character of eminent men, whose memory will be preserved, when the surroundii^ crowds shall have passed into the same oblivion that has covered the innumerable millions of their predecessors.
While the plain principles of justice were con- tended for on this side the water, in the most dis- tinct and open manner, and with a steadiness and inflexibility suited to the occasion, the conduct of the ministry was encroackii^, disingenuous and obscure, . arrogant at one moment, and hesitating at another. Most of the illustrious names in modem English his- tory were to be found on the side of opposition.
The ministry were, through the whole period, destitute of any elevated or extensive views, though they held the reins of power at a moment, when these qualities were peculiarly desirable. They seem^ throughout to have been composed of intri* guing courtiers, or mere business men, without genius or energy enough to carry into effect, even their own narrow and tyrannical system. This judgment has
PREFACE. XV
been too often passed upoii them to be now reyer»- ed The instances of it are familiar to every reader, but the following description, while it is less known, k not inferior in force and truth to most others^ Sir Samuel Romillj, in a speech in parliament in 1780, thus described the administration that pro- duced and prosecuted the American war.
^ As statesmen, it is not easj to distinguish their characters ; for no one minister has appeigred to be the author of any particular measure. All that has been done, has had the apparent approbation of the whole administration, and there are persons who go so far as to assert, that the real authors of all the proceedings against America are still behind the curtain. Of the whole administration, however, taken together, the prmcipal characteristics are want of system and irresolution. The latter, in- deed, is but a consequence of the former. Having little, confined views, they seem never from the first to hare formed any comprehensive plan, and this original defect has proportionally increased with ill success ; perplexed and confounded with the mazes and dangers into which they have run, like child- ren, they rather turn away from what affrights them, than endeavour to prevent it They ward off the present evil that presses on them, but leave the morrow to provide for itself ; and may be truly
xvi PREFACE.
said, according to the latin phrase, in diem vivere. Their plan of operations, (for systems, they have none,) changes with every new occurrence. With every various accident, every various passion takes its turns to rule them. Regarding only the immedi^ ate object before them, they magnify its importance^ and are now confident of success, now plunged bto despair. The idol they erected yesterday, is cast down to day, and perhaps, will be enshrined again to-morrow. In prosperity, they are proud, contemp- tuous, and overbearing; in adversity, supple, meait and abject. At the commencement of the stru^le with America, they treated the refractory colonists as a despicable gang of ruffians; but the moment a league was formed with France, they prostrated themselves at the feet of those rebels they had spumed, and offered them much more than had ever been demanded. But the panic was soon disr sipated by a gleam of success; ministers resumed confidence, and one of them was imprudent enough to hint even in the house of commons, that uncondi* tional submission was alone to be listened to— ^tdf libet impotens sperare^ Jortunaque dulci ebrius. Nay, but last winter, flushed with the successes of lord Cornwallis, they were in imagination masters of all the southern provinces, and masters so absolute, that
PREFACE. xtU
thej thought it time to send out again lord Dun- more, to chastise, not to goyem, Virginia.^'
No study can be more useful to the ingenpousV youth of the United States, than that of their own history, nor any examples more interesting or more safe for their contemplation, than those of the great founders of the republic Yet it may be feared that this department is too much neglected by them, or only superficially examined. There are certain sen- timents indeed, that are learned by rote, while a few prominent names and facts are known and repeated exclusively. When a well known foreign journal* in all the triumph of insolent ignorance, asked, ** Who Patrick Henry was f^ we only smiled at its impertinence. But are we entirely exempt from the reproach of neglecting our own annals, for less raluable histoiy f\
* Quarterly Review.
tit ma J be safely aArmed that no man ean thoroughly understand the ori- gin of the American Revolution, without a critical perusal of the Mauaehu- sttU State Papertj that no statesman should be without them, no lawyer who pretends to rise above the lowest classes of the profession, should be destitute •f a copy, yet the volume that was published two years since, cost only a dollar, and almost the entire edition remains on the printer^s hands. Nearly the same result followed the republication of the celebrated essays of Aeron- ghu and MasMehwettenriSy they were written during that interesting period, which immediately preceded the battle of Lexington, and which contain the aiguments on each side, stated with great learning and consummate ability, forming a masterly commentary on the whole hittoiy of Amencan taxation and the rise of the revolution. C
y
iHii PREFACE.
The reader aviH be disappointed, if he expects to find in this rolame, more than mere fragmeBti of the life of James Otis. After a diligent and wide- ly extended search, but little comparatively has been recovered of his private life, or of his public services; yet before the year 1770, no American, th. Franklin only excepted, was so much known, and so often naoied in the other colonies, and in England. ^ His papers have all perished, none of his speeches were recorded, and be himself havii^ been cut off before the revolution actually commenced, his name is connected with none of the public documents that are familiar to the nation^ It is owing to this com«> Vmation of circumstances, that the most learned, the most eloquent, the most ardent, the most mflu*^ ential man of his time, is now so little known, that to many persons the following language of Presid^at Adams, seemed exaggerated. ^ I have been young, and now am old, and I solemnly say, I have never known a man whose love of his country was mors ardent or sincere ; never one who suffered so much ; never one, whose services for any ten years ^ his life,, were so important and essential to the cause of his country, as those of Mr. Otis, from 1760 to 1770.*^ Language equally strong was used by the
n' — — — — —
*^Leltwt to the leM W. TudoK^ £tq^
PHEFAC& zin
bte Chief Justice Daiia^ when tpeakiog of hioaig m one of bis charges to a grand jury ; and sisiilaf opiniona were held by all those who acted with hiin^ IumI were wttnesaes to bis talents and iDAueace*
His mamscripts being all lost^ a more cqpioiis use has been consequently made of some of hia printed works and official reports, in order to give a distinct idea of his manner, as well as his ability and services. A more accurate impression will be thus obtained, than could be received of most men from their printed works, because few persons were more frank and fearless in giving their opinions to the public; and they were, besides, thrown off so rapid- ly, and published with so Kttte rerision or correction, that they exhibit a very lively picture of his mind. In seeking for materials, the search has been like attempting to recover the parts of a mutilated an* tique statue ; here and there a fragment might be found, a hand in one place, a foot in another, and though we might confidently exclaim, Ex pede Her^ euUm ! still the symmetry of an entire restoration is hopeless.
Some sketches are given of his colleagues, but many who are worthy of commemoration are omit- ted, because the volume had grown beyond the or^^inal design. Many characteristic and interesting
XX PREFACE.
anecdotes of the same period, remain to*be collected. Many curious illustrations of individual character and of historical events abound in that era; in which, like all others of high excitement, the lights and shadows are strongly cast, and the actions of men stand for* ward in bold relief.
I-
ItUroduetory Remarki-^'Origin of the Otis FamUy^^Birth and Education of Jama Otis.
Xhe memorable contest between Great Britain and her colonies in America, which in its progress in- Tolved the chief maritime powers of Europe, and terminated in the independence of the United States, was gradually prepared by events, and by the situa- tion and character of the parties. Circumstances had slowly developed, for a series of years, the dis- cordant interests of the parent country, and the colo- nies, and convinced thinking men in both, that some change must ensue; Whether there were many 1
2 LIFE OF JAMES OTIS.
remedies to be tried, can now be only matter oi speculation, but the course adopted bj the British statesmen, left their opponents the choice of only this alternative, — entire separation or political servi- tude. T.le crisis had been too long foreseen to de- ter by its magnitude, and too well understood to permit hesitation. Respectful, and even imploring petitions, were followed by angry discussions and stern protests : to these succeeded the scenes of actual warfare. The whole action advanced with a slowness of movement, and progressive increase of interest, that were suited to the grandeur of a drama, whose s{>ectators were all the nations of Eu- rope, and the consequences of which were to have a wider bearing on the welfare of mankind, than any event in modern, or perhaps in ancient times.
For a war of this nature every species of exertion was required. The most profound and earnest dis- cussion of all the principles of government, the pre- rogative of the crown, the jurisdiction of the Parlia- ment, and the rights of the colonies, naturally preced- ed and for a time accompanied, the struggle in the field. Talents of all kinds were put in requisition, and as the elTort on the part of the colonists was not made for territory or plunder, but for principle, the know- ledge, the zeal, the firmness of the citizens in their civil capacity, were no less necessary to their suc- cess, than bravery and skill in arms. The features of civil and foreign warfare were blended. It was a civil war, as it was carried on against subjects who renounced their allegiance ;^t was foreign in some
. LIFE OP JAMES OTIS. 3
of its aspects, because it was waged by the mother country, amongst distant settlements, to whose in- habitants the invading troops appeared like foreign mercenaries, who came to spoil them without re- morse.
In the ordinary disputes of party, or the quarrels between nations, it little affects reputation, on which side men may happen to be. The objects in dis- pute are then narrow am^ transient; the party which is In the shade, at one moment, may bask in the sunshine at the next ; the fortress or province that is lost in one war may be regained in another ; while the statesmen and commanders who are at the head of operations cause no peculiar result by their efforts, and their names being connected with no great era in the affairs of mankind, merely serve to swell the common annals of the world, without attracting any stroi^ interest or lasting remem- brance.
The American revolution furnishes an impressive lesson, to shew how different are the consequences, when the contest is one, that forms an epoch in history, by its permanent influence on the interests of the human race. The choice between parties at such a crisis is of vast moment ; it involves home, fame and country — Oblivion may be mercy to the vanquished ; and magnanimous minds will grant an amnesty to all who were honest though misled; while their fortunate rivals are borne in triumph through the nation they have saved. By this mighty event, one party became the citizens of the 2
4 LIFE OF JAMES OTIS.
freest nation upon earth : while the unfortunate frag- ments of the other, were doomed to exile from the place of their nativity, forming a sort of political ex- travasation, and were rewarded for all their sacrifi- ces by an eleemosynary pension, or by a grant of lands in some bleak region of colonial subserviency. The talents of the individuals may have been equal ; yet in this case, the names on one side are already forgotten, while those on the other are daily acquir- ii^ renown, by the wider experience of the advan- tages they obtained for their country. The charac- ters of the great leaders in the American revolution, are gradually emerging from the jealous level of their own times. As this sinks away, they will be- come daily more conspicuous, and when their con- temporary age shall be enrolled among the past ; these founders of a nation will remain the lofty land-marks of history, sublime as the mountains of the globe appeared in all their majestic elevation, after the waters of the deluge had subsided.
The philosophical observer will not often believe in prodigies, nor imagine that the powers of human intellect greatly vary at diflFerent periods. While the envious detract from all merit, he will render justice to great services without being impelled by a blind admiration. No age perhaps has been wholly deficient in men, who were capable of reach- ing the highest attainments, or performing the no- blest actions, yet it is only some, congenial seasons that call these faculties into exercise, and afford to superior minds the opportunity of connecting their
LIFE OF JAMES OTIS. 5
names with enduring recollections. It is eminent good fortune for such minds to exist in those times, when some lasting improvement is taking place in human afi&irs ; when principles are to be established, that will spread and develope themselves through a long succession of ages. The American revolution constitutes one of the epochs from which will bo dated a vast amelioration in the destiny of man : and the fame of many illustrious men who were en- engaged in its cause, will continually increase as the operation of its consequences is extended. Their talents and virtuea were exhibited in the senate or the camp, in the forum or the fields yvith undaunted zeal and heroic constancy. One of the most emi- nent of these patriots for his civil services, and one of the earliest and bcJdest asserters of the great / principles Which led to our national existence, was Jambs Otis, of Massachusetts, to whose life and cha- racter this volume is devoted.
The family of Otis has produced some eminent persons, and its several branches are now widely extended. They all derived their origm from John Otis, who came over from England with his family, at a very early period of the Colony, and was one of the first inhabitants of Hingham. His grandson John Otis* was bom A. D. 1657 and removed when a young man to Barnstable, where his talents soon made him the most respectable individual in the
• See Appendix B.
6 LIFE OF JAMES OTIS.
county : He was eighteen yeai's at the head of itf militia, twenty years a representative, and for twen- ty one years in the Council of the Province. He was also for thirteen years chief Judge of the Common Pleas, and also Judge of Probate ; a combination of offices sometimes enjoyed by the same individual in the early stages of our settlements, before the popu- lation became crowded, and when the functions of office did not require incessant labour. The success- ful discharge of such various employments is an evi- dence of his capacity and integrity, which joined to his wit and affability secured him great influence : he died November 30th, 1727. Two of his sons were known in public life, John and James. John Otis was a representative for Barnstable ; and after- wards of the Council till his death in 1756. James Otis, bom in 1702, was a man of great distinction and influence, but more indebted to the native energy of his mind, than to a regular education, for the acquire- ments he possessed. He became eminent at the bar, and was at one period a candidate for the bench of the Supreme Court, a circumstance which it will be necessary to notice more particularly here- after.
He married Mary Allyne in Connecticut, and had thirteen children, five sons and eight daughters, several of whom died in infancy. The second son, Joseph, remained at Barnstable, where his children held different public offices, and one of them now mhabits the family mansiop at Great Marshes,
LIFE OF JAMES OTIS. 7
Samuel Allyne was his youngest son. Of the daugh- ters, Mercy, the eldest, married General James Warren of Plymouth, and Mary married Mr. John Gray, the other daughters died unmarried.
His employment in public stations was affected in a very considerable degree, by the course followed by his celebrated son. He was at one period a Justice of the Common Pleas and Judge of Probate, joinii^ to these offices that of Colonel of the Militia, as his father had done before him. Colonel Otis, as he was generally called, was several times negatived as a Councillor, by Governor Bernard ; but being con- stantly rechosen, was afterwards approved by Governor Hutchinson, and sat at the Council Board during the first years of the war. He died in the month of November 1778.
James Otis, the eldest son of Colonel James Otis of Barnstable, descended in the fifth generation from John Otis, the first of the name in this country, was bom in the family mansion at Great Marshes, in what is now called West Barnstable, the 5th day of February 1724-5. His father, having always regretted his own want of a classical education, was the more anxious that his children should have eve- ry opportunity to secure all its advantages. His son therefore was prepared for college under the care of the Rev. Jonathan Russell, the clergyman of the parish, and entered at Cambridge in June, 1739 During the two first years of his college life, his natural ardour and vivacity made his society much courted bj the. elder students, and engieiged him
8 LIFE OF JAMES OTIS.
more in amoBement than in study ; but he changed his course in the junior year, and though yet in his boyhood, began thenceforward to give indications of great talent ^nd power of application. He took the degree of A. B. in 1743, and that of A. M. in due course, three years afterwards. The only record of his haying any part in the public college exer- cises, is that of a syllogistic disputation on receiving his first degree.
The period is past when any traits of his youth can be known from personal observation. All the per* sons who might have cherished in their memory such incidents of his early years, as at that period often indicate the future character of eminent men, have paid the debt of nature. The few traditions that can now be gleaned are extremely scanty. At school, and at college excepting his first two years, he was serious in his habits and steady in applica- tion. When he came home from the latter during the vacations, he was so devoted to his books, that he was seldom seen, and the near neighbours to his father's dwelling would sometimes only remark his return, after he had been at home a fortnight. Though enveloped in his studies, and marked with some of the gravity and abstraction, natural to severe application, he would occasionally discover the wit and humour, which formed afterwards strik- ing ingredients in his character. A small party of young people being assembled one day at his father's house, when he was at home during a college vaca- tion, he had taken a slight part m their sports, when
UFE OF JAMES OTIS. 9
after much persuasion, they induced him to play a country dance for them with his violin, on which in^ strument he then practised a little. The set was made up, and after they were fairly engaged, he suddenly stopped and holding up his fiddle and bow, exclaimed ^ So Orpheus fiddled, and so danced the Inrutes T' and then tossing aside the instrument, rush- ed into the garden, followed by the disappointed revellers, who were obliged to convert their mtend- ed dance, into a frolicksome chase after the fugi- tive musician.
eimtiter XX.
His Prepar(Uion for the Study of Law—LtiUr on that Subject-^ His Entrance into the Profession — Literary Pursuits — Two Pri* vote Letters^^His Marriage and FamUyr'Professumal Anecdotes.
After leaving college in 174S, Otis devoted eighteen m^Hiths to the pursuit of various branches of literature, previously to entering on the study of jurisprudence. He always regretted that he had not given a loi^r time to the acquisition of general knowledge, before he directed his attention exclu- sively to reading law. The learning he acquired in this preparatory study, was afterwards of the great- est use to him. He inculcated on his pupils as a
10 UFE OP JAMES OTIS.
maiiaiv ^ that a lawyer ought neyer to be without a volume of natural or public law, or moral philoso> phy, on his table, or in his pocket'' His own ex- pressions in the following letter, will place this sub- ject in a strong light: though only a sketch of the advantages resulting from the course he recom- mends, yet they are ably stated and come from him with peculiar weight. The letter was addressed to his father, on the subject of his youi^er brother* Samuel AUyne Otis studying law. It was written in 1760, and may be inserted here appropriately, though it is anticipating the regular course of dates. In conversing with his brother on the subject of this study and speaking of the books in this science and its modem improvements, he told him, ^ that Black- itone's Commentaries would have saved him seven years labour poring over and delving in black let- ter."
** It is with sincerest pleasure I find my brother Samuel has well employed his time during his resi- dence at home, I am sure you don't think the time long he is spending in his present course of studies, since it is past all doubt they are not only ornamen- tal and useful, but indispensably necessary prepara- torys for the figure I hope one day, for his and your sake, as well as my own, to see him make in the
•Samuel AU]me Otis took his degree of A. B. at Harrard University in 1759. He became a merchant; and at the first organization of the Federal Government, he was chosen Secretary of the Senate of the United States, which office he held through all the changes of parties till his death in 1814. The Hon. Harrison Gray Otis, now of the Senate of the United States, is his eldest son.
UFE or JAMES OTIS. 11
profeseion, he is determined to pursue. I am sure the year and a half I spent in the same waj^^fter leaving the academy, was- as well spent as any part of my life ; and I shall always lament that I did not take a year or two further for more general in- quiries in the arts and sciences, before I sat down to the laborious study of the laws of my country. My brother's judgment canU at present be supposed to be ripe enough for so severe an exercise, as the proper reading and well digesting the common law. Very sure I am, if he should stay a year or two from the time of his degree, before he begins with the law, he will be able to make a better prepress in one week, than he could now, without a miracle, in six. Early and short clerkships and a premature rushing into practice, without a competent know- ledge in the theory of law, have blasted the hopes of, (and ruined the expectations formed by the pa- rents of) most of the students in the profession, who have fell within my observation for these ten or fif- teen years past.''
^ I hold it to be of vast importance that a young man should be able'to make some eclat at his open- ing, which it is in vain to expect from one under twenty five : missing of this is very apt to discourage and dispirit him, and what is of worse consequence, may prevent the application of clients ever after. It has been observed before I was bom, if a man don't obtain a character in any profession soon after hia first appearance, he hardly will ever obtain one* The bulk of mankind, I need not inform you, who 3
18 LIFE OF JAMES OTIS.
have conversed with, studied and found mai^ of them put, are a gaping crew, and like little children and all other gazing creatures, won't look long upon ooe object which gives them pleasure ; much less will they seek for entertainment where they have been twice or thrice disappointed. The late emi- ^ent Mr. John Beed, who, by some, has been per- haps justly esteemi^ the greatest conmion lawyer this cont^ient ever saw, was, you know, mai^ years a dergymao, and had attained the age of forty, be<- fore he began the practice, if not before he began the study, of the law. Sir Peter King, formerly Lord high Chancellor of. England, kept a grocer's shop till he was tum'd of thirty, then fe|l into an acquaintance with the immortal John Locke, who discovered a genius in him, advised him to books and assisted in his education ; after which he took to the study of the common law, and finally attained to the highest place, to which his royal master could advance a lawyer. I think I have been told the Lord Chief Justice Pemberton, or some one of the Chief Justices of England, was a bankrupt, and in the Fleet prison for debt, before he even dreamed of being a lawyer. I mention these instances, not as arguments to prove it would be most eligible to stay till thirty or forty, before a man begins the study of a profession he is to live by ; but this infe- rence I think very fairly follows, that those gentle- men availed themselves much of the ripeness of their judgments when they began this study, and made much swifter progress than a young man of
LIFE or JAMES OTIS. It
twenty with all the genias in the world coukl do; or they would hare been approaching stiperaimuation, before they could be equipped with a sufficient degree of learning, once to gire hope for the suc- cess they found, and then such hope would vanish, unless they could get a new lease of life and under- standmg*''
** I hare formed rery sanguine hopes from Sam- uel's pursuii^ the plan I have taken a little paois to project for him; and flatter myself, that though I am not wholly disinterested in this matter, yet I come as near beii^ so, as can be expected from maa —The great point m view with regard to myself, for this you have taught me by your excellent ex- ample to consider my children, k in short this : I have one son who may live to be to Samuel, what Samuel is in one respect at least to me, and his uncle's wishes may be of more importance to him, than those of an elder brother can be to his uncle. And as in the commcx) course of things I have not so great a probability of seeing this son so far, or so well advanced in life, as I hope you will see all yours, I think it my duty to secure him so far as is in my power, such a friend and instructor as may, as much as is possible, supply the place of a father ; and I know no better way of effecting this, than by spar- ing no pains in seeking the intellectual welfare of the unde, who, had the ability and integrity of my in- structors been equal to the paternal care and libe- rality of the best of fathers, would have found a better assistant through the pleasant though long
14 LIFE OF JAMES OTIS.
journies of science, than I ever can expect to furnish him with, in yielding him my well meant, however weak endeavours.''
In 1745 he began the study of the law in the office of Mr. Gridley,* at that time the most emi- nent lawyer in the Province. After completing hig studies under him, he went to Plymouth, was first admitted to th^ bar of that county, and entered •there upon the practice. But the narrow range of country business could not long detain a character like his, from appearing on a scene more suited to bis powers. After two years residence at Ply- mouth, which were occupied more in study than in practice,t he removed to Boston, and very soon rose to the first rank in his profession. His business as
* Jeremiah Gridley was. one of%he principal lawyers and civilians of this Hme. He took his degree at Harvard College in 1725. He came to Boston as an assistant in the Grammar School, for some time p.eached occasionally ; but turning his attention to the law, he soon rose to distinction in the p<-ofe»- sion. He set on foot a weekly journal, in 1732, called the Rehearsal, ii| which he wrote on various literary as well as political subjects, but it lasted only one year. He was a whig in politics, and as a representative from Brookline in the General Court, opposed the measures of the Ministry. He was however appointed Attorney General, when Mr. Trowbridge was pro- ■}oted to the bench, and in that capacity was obliged to defend the famous ** Writs of Assistance,'' in which he was opposed and wholly confuted by his pupil, Otis. He was a Colonel of the Militia, and Grand Master of the Free Masons, and belonged to some other d^aritable associations. He died in Bos^ ton September 7th, 1767.— £7io/.
t He lived in Plymouth in 1748 and 1749, and kept his office in the main street; bis name does not appear on the rccoids of the Town, except in a tax bill in 1748, where he is rated at " iO.. personal estate and faculty," but it H found frequently on the records of the Court, ior those two years, as being *^of Plymouth.^— In Boston he occipied successively three diflferent houses, oqe in School street, on the Noith sidi^, next to tlie county property, the house in Couyt Street which belongs to the Brattle Street Church, and the hpuM pt^ tl|e south tide of the western entrance to Bowdoin Square .
L
LIFE OF JAMES OTIS. 16
A lawyer became very extensive, and his reputation was firmly established for learning, eloquence and the most high minded integrity. He was soon generally known in many of the other colonies, and often consulted from a distance ; at one time he yielded to the urgent solicitations that were made to him to proceed to Halifax in the middle of winter, to plead the cause of three men accused of piracy^ whom he defended so ably as to procure their ac- quittal. On this occasion he received a fee, which was said to have been the largest that had ever been given to any advocate in the Province. This compensation however, would have been an inade- quate motive for accepting such a commission, if there had not been joined to it the flattering com- pliment of being sought from afar, and the increase of reputation that naturally attended on such a dis-* tinction.
Through all his professional engagements, he still retained his taste for literature, which was estab- lished on the sure foundation of accomplished scholarship. To aid the cultivation of classical learning, he supplied a deficiency which then exist- ed, by composing a treatise entitled ^ The Rudi- menis of Latin Prosody^ with a dissertation oh Let- ters, and the principles of Harmony, in poetic and prosaic composition, collected from the best wri- ters;'' which was published in 1760.* This work forms a very complete treatise ; and if it were used JO all our latin schools at the present day, the stu- - ,j .
• 9m Appendix C,
Jft UFE or JAMES OTIS.
dedts might hereafter escape the reproaches to which thej are too generally obnoxioue from' their neglect of prosody. He also composed a similar Work on Greek prosody, which remained in manu- script ; and perished with all the rest of his papers. He was a passionate admirer of the Greek poets^ particularly of Homer, and used to say, it was in vain to attempt to read poetry in afty language without a thorcaigh knowledge of its prosody. When the wish was si^ested by a friend to whom he had lent the treatise, that it should be printed ; he said ** there were no Greek types in the country, or if there were that no printer knew how to set them«^' His o^her writings were political and will be noticed hereafter in regular order.
His literary taste was formed and matured by the most thorough classical study^ and his tenets in critir cism were those of the old school. He was fond of the society of young people, to whom he was in- dulgent and instructiye. At a certain period it was the fashion to a degree of affectation, for many young men, to be talking about poetry and citic^ verses, but altogether from the English poets of the day. To a young gentleman^ who was particularly mtimate b his family, he remarked, ^ These lads are very fond of talkii^ about poetry, and repeat-
* The lertt Jtunes Perkins, Esq. of Boston, who was intimate in Mr. Otis^s family. Mr. Perkins has deceased since the passage in the text was written. He was one of the most tmibent merchants in the Cnited States, and di9> tinguished not only by uprightness and intelligence in h\A profession, but by a taste for literature and attachment to iu interests. He will be remembered far etreral liberal donations to public institutions*
t
> - >..
Ot/u.Mn^. Jan'^ij^cTLH.p.j'j .
LIFE OF JAMES OTIS. 17
ing passages of it ; the poets they quote I know nothii^ of, but do you take care, James, that you don't give into this folly. If you want to read poe- try, read Shakespeare, Miltcm, Dryden and Pope, and throw all the rest in the fire, these are all that are worth reading.*'
The following letters were addressed one to hi« brother, and the other to his father. Though they relate only to the ordinary occurrences of private life, they are inserted here, because with the ex- ception of some copies of letters of business in an • imperfect letter-book, these brief and familiar epis- tles are almost the only vestiges in his own hand writing, of his most extensive corr^pondence,
BOSTON, OCTOBEE 11th, 1752.
<<PKAm BROTHSRy
** I H/LVB sent you what you wrote for ; the but- tons are more fashionable than plain. I would have sent you a better whip, but that you would not go to the price for one of the best. I am sorry to find by your letter that you are yet so weak. I am no physician, as I could wish, but recommend the ad- vice of Sir William Temple, which is, care, tempe- rance and patience. Whatever you do, engage in no pursuit of business till you find yourself strong ; even thinking with any degree of intenseness may be prejudicial. If you can, bring yourself to a mode- rate degree of cheerfulness, for I am of opinion that bodily infirmities may some times be greatly allayed, if not removed, by gettii^ the mind into the easy^
18 LITE OF JAMES OTIS.
facetious frame — but above all things abstain from meat of anj kind, and from any thing stronger than beer. I know as well as the best of the doctors* I hope with God's blessing to see you ere long in a better situation of health than ever you was, as I doubt not you will be, if you once get the better of your present indisposition.
I am your affectionate brother,
J. OTIS.
JOSEPH onS, ES<1.''
BOSTON, APRIL 3d, 1758.
*HOirQJTRKD SIR,
" Since mine of this morning I have been sent for by the Governor, upon the receipt of yours by Mr. Coffin, and he hath sent the enclosed orders. He thinks it as strange as you do, that they don't know their own minds at York, however he saith you have nothing to do but obey orders, and whatever extraordinary expences accrue you shall be allowed, and that you may draw on him for money as you want it. By his order I send Barker with this, which will all go into your account as it ought ; I received these orders at sunset, and have desired Barker to ride all night, for fear of any delay — as our Court
* The style of this address is a trait of former manners. Our puritan an- testors and their descendants down to the last generation, in their intercourse with their children, discouraged familiarity : a severe resttaint was imposed on them, and their duty was exhibited in the line of submissive reverenca rather than in that of endearing affection. To have appeared unconstrained in the company of a parent, or to have used the style of modern times in wri- tin^ '' My dear Father,'* instead of *' Honoured Sir,** would have been coa- sidertd indecorous, and a subversion of all discipline and respect.
LIFE OF JAIMa OTIS. 19
sits tcMnorrow and my affairs here are situated, I could not come to Plymouth — Since my last hare received fifty shillings for Lot Case's gun which brother Joseph knew nothing of, not having the certificate, so remains due to me 10 shillings besides what he is willing to allow me for my trouble, which don't care much about
I am your dutiful son,
JAMES OTIS.
HON. Jims OTIS, BARH8TABLE.
In the sprii^ of the year 1755 he married Miss Ruth Cunningham, the daughter of a respectable merchant. The lady was very beautiful, and was possessed of a dowry which in those times was con^- sidered very large. They had three children, one son and two daughters. The son was named James, after his father ; he was a boy of very bright parts, and some eccentricity, but his career was terminate ed before a just estimate could be made of his cha- racten He entered at the beginning of^the war, as a volunteer midshipman, and died after being a short time in the service, before he was eighteea The eldest daughter Elizabeth, married Captain Brown, an officer* in the English army, of a good family in Lincolnshire, who, after the conclusion of the war, coming into possession of a handsome pro-
* Mr. Brown wus wounded at the battle of Bunker Hill ; he was then a Lieutenant, was promoted, and afterwardt placed in command of one of tbf fortrewef on the coast of England.
4
2« LIFE OF JAMES OTIS.
pertj, resigned his commission. Mrs. Brown left the country with her husband during the war, and did not return to it again except for a short risit in 1792. This lady was in 1821, still liring a widow
^ in England. The youngest daughter, Mary, married Benjamin Lincoln, eldest son of General Lincoln*''*' This gentleman was in the profession of the law, and gave promise of great distinction, but died deeply regretted at the early age of twenty eight. His widow, who possessed fine talents and an agreeaUe character, died suddenly at Cambridge in 1806. They had two sons, Benjamin a physician, and James Otis Lincoln, a lawyer, who like their father, were cut off prematurely ; the elder died in August 1813, and the younger in August 1818, leaving a widow and two children.
Few characters could be more unlike than those
; of Mr. Otis and his wife, yet they were attached to each other. Beautiful, placid and formal, she was suited to the calm and monotonous routine of a quiet existence, while his ardent mind, impetuous genius, and energetic will, qualified him to direct the leading events in a great crisis of national affairs. Her feelings too were not in sympathy with his, on political topics : the consequence was shewn in the
* General Lincoln, who commanded in Carolina and capitulated aC Charleston : afterwards received the sword of Lord Cornwallis when his army surrendered at York-Town. As a military man, he was one of the most distinguished in the revolutionary array ; and as a private individual he had that union of simple dignity and benevolent courtesy, which mark the gentleman : as a citizen he was one of the most estimable that Massachusetts ever possessed. An account of his life, remarkably well Wi itten, may be found in tlie 3d Vol. 2d series, of the Mass. His. Soc. Collections.
LIFE OP JAMES OTIS. 21
marriage of her eldest daughter with a British offi- cer, which took place after his unfortunate, mental disorder. An alliance of this kind, though there were no personal objections to the individual, and in this case the match was unexceptionable, would have been most repugnant to his feelings ; and af- forded one of the examples to shew, how cruellj the calamities of war, and especially of civil war, in- terfere with the natural affections of mankind, and carry confusion and bitterness among the dearest connections of private life. In his unfortunate state of mind, when reason could not exert its influence to «ubdue prejudice and hatred, this marriage was al- ways a subject of exasperation* His wife, though . exposed to many painful trials, from his misfortune, never lost her tenderness and respect for him. While amidst all the diminution of income and em- barrassment of his private affairs, from neglecting his own concerns to take care of those of the public, he •acredly preserved the fortune he received with her^ and after her decease, which was very sudden, on November 15th, 1789, in her 60th year, it was divided between her daughters.
In connection with these family notices, a brief account of his sister, a very distinguished woman may be here introduced. This sister, Mercy Otis, married the Hoa James Warren of Plymouth, a de-? scendant of some of the first and most respectable pilgrims, who founded the Plymouth colony. General Warren and his wife were both of them earnestly attached to the cause of the revolution, in which he
£2 UFE OF JAMES OTIS.
rendered manj efficieDt services, one of suflkient utilitjy to connect his name with that event in a lasting manner. He was the author of the scheme for forming Committees of Correspondence, which he communicated to Samuel Adams, in 1773, who was making htm a visit. Mr. Adams consulted with his friends on his return to Boston, the plan was adopted, spread with rapidity throughout all the colonies, and became one of the most powerful me- chanical means, for tinitii^ and directing public sen- timent in favour of the Revolution. He filled many honourable and responsible staticms,* and died at Plymouth in November, 1808, in the eighty third year of his age. Mrs. Warren had much of the same ardour of character that distin^ished her brother, and their political sympathies were in com- plete unison. With a husband who was earnestly engaged against the arbitrary designs that brought on the revolution ; and with a brother, who was for so many years the chief leader and adviser in all the councils of opposition, she could not fail to become acquainted with all the principles and occurrences of that period, in which her disposition led her to be deeply interested. Politics and literature always
* On the death of his father in 1757, be was appoiDted his successor in the place of High Sheriff for the County, and retained this place to the beginning of the war. He was a member of the legislature, and President of the Pro- * ▼iocial C«ngref8« In 1775 be was made paymaster general of the army, but ftoon resigned it. He was for several years speaker of the House of Repre- sentatives of Massachusetts, and afterwards a Commissioner of the Navy Board. At the close of the war he retired, but was afterwaj^ds chosen into the council : his last public employment was as an elector of President in 1804.
Lira OF JAMES OTIS. £9
occupied a lai^e share of her attentioQ^ s^ throi^h ' her whole life, she felt a strong interest io pqblip affairs, and devoted much of her time to writing. She published, in 1805, a history of the American Revolution, in three volumes ; a volume of Poems containing two tragedies, and occasional verses ad- dressed to children and friends, in 1790 — and an an« onymous political satire in the shape of a drama, cal« led ** The Group,'' in 1775 ; she maintained a corre* spondence with several distinguished individuals, and wrote occasionally in the newspapers anonymously. She died at Plymouth, in 1814, at the Qge of 86L
Some scanty gleam'ngs from the field of his proi- f^onal career, are all that can now be recollected, though the qualities and employments that made Mr. Otis the acknowledged head of the bar, must have produced a rich harvest of professional anec* dote. The following is one of the examples of his conduct as a lawyer, that is often related in the part of the countij wh^re it occurred. He was employed in a suit in the county of Plymouth, to recover the amount of a bill, which the defendant alleged had been paid, but of which fact he could not produce any proof. Mr. Otis was not aware of the dishonesty of his client, who was the plaintiff and a man of reputable standing — but while the cause was under trial, the latter taking out his pocket book to look after some document that was wanted, Mr. Otis happened to see among the papers a re- ceipt in full which had been given for this identical demand : which the plaintiff having by some means
24 LIFE OF JAMES OTIS.
got poasession of, had now brought this suit to re* cover a second time. Otis immediately took him aside, and said to him, ^ jou are a pretty rascal, there is a receipt for the very demand now before the Court!'' The man was confounded and ac- knowledged that it was so, but begged his advocate not to expose him. Otis immediately went back into the bar, and stated to the Court, that it was unnecessary the cause should be carried any further, a circumstance had occurred which had convinced him the plaintiflPs demand was unfounded, and beg- ged his client might be nonsuited. Chief Justice Hutchinson without knowing at the time, the par- ticular reasoas for Otis's proceeding, paid him some natural compliments on his frank and manly conduct, and took the occasion to remark, how much time might be saved, if it were generally imitated. During the trial of one of the causes in which he was engaged on the Western Circuit ; his attention was much excited by the manner of one of the wit- nessed a young woman of very pleasing and modest appearance, who gave her testimony against his client, with such uncommon distinctness and intelli- gence, that after it was concluded, Mr. Otis said, that with the leave of the Court, and the consent of the witness, he would ask her some questions. Then telling her, how much gratified every one who heard her must have been, with the remarka- ble clearness and propriety of her testimony, the following dialogue took place : ** Where were you bom, ma'am? In the next town, Sir — Where were
LIFE OF JAMES OTIS. 25
you educated ? — ^There, Sir — Where have you tra- velled ? — never out of this county, Sir." Mr. Otis raised his hands exclaiming,
'^ Full many a flower is born to blush unseen And waste its sweetness on the desert air.^'
He espoused a cause gratuitously at Plymouth, that arose out of a frolic on a ** Pope day ;'' some details of which, furnish characteristics of the times. A custom of English origin, prevailed in Boston, and occasionally in other seaports of Massachusetts, of celebrating the fifth of November, the day of the well known Gunpowder plot, which was called Pope day. It was attended here with extravagan- ces and pasquinades, not unlike, by a whimsical ap- proximation, the satirical and burlesque licentious- ness, that is practised during certain days of the Carnival in some Catholic countries. On one of these occasions at Plymouth, there was a great deal of noisy turbulence. The inhabitants had been forced to illuminate their windows, some of which had been broken, which excited a good deal of ill temper, and led to a prosecution of the offenders. Mr. Otis was applied to by the defendants, some thoughtless young men, to plead their cause. Thinking the prosecution to have been illnatured and vindictive, he kindly engaged in their defence, exerted all his powers of humour and argument, de- scribed it as a common, annual frolic, undertaken without malice, and conducted without substantial injury; obtained their acquittal and refused all fees.
26 LIFE OF JAMES OTIS.
This annirersarj, which was got up originally with political views, to keep alive hatred and distrust towards the Catholics in England ;* was commemora- ted in this country in a solemn way, and finished a topic for occasional sermons and prayers, against popery. It sometimes included in its denunciations, a^ covert reference to the hierarchy in England ; which in succeeding to iiiany of the possessions, and some of the ceremonies of the papal churchy was itlso thought by our puritan forefathers to have re- tained a good share of its cruel intolerance ; an i]>- tolerance, that, with marveHous inconsistency, they practised on others, while grieving themselves under its effects. Boston was always the head quarters of the celebration, which was indeed seldom prac-* tised beyond the limits of Massachusetts; but in process of time it degenerated into a turbulent, lir centious frolic. The town was divided into two parties, called the JVorth^nd and Southrend^ who had each their ** pope,"' as it was called. One of the party ringing a hand bell knocked at every house^ and recited a short ballad,t to get some gratuity for
* Pope burning was first introduced in England on the annirersary of Elisabeth^s coronation. In Scott's edition of Dryden, there is a curious ac- count of the ceremony, with a plate representing a procession that was made Noyember 17th, 1679. See Vol. 6, p. 222. and vol. 10, p. 370.
t DonH you remember
The fifth of November, The Gunpowder treason and plot ;
f see no reason, Why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.
LIFE OF JAMES OTIS. 27
a common purse, to defray the expence of a jovial supper for the principal performers.
The pageant was exhibited on a stage, mounted on wheels and drawn by horses. In front of the stage, was a lantern six or eight feet high, made with oiled paper, and covered with satirical inscrip- tions, alluding to the political characters or events of the day ; and sometimes a boy was placed inside of it, accoutred and dancing in an antic manner. Next to the lantern, was a small figure meant for the Pretender, suspended to a gibbet. In the centre was the Pope, preposterously dressed, and made as corpulent as possible; and in the rear was a figm*e of the Devil, with an enormous tail, a pitchfork in one hand, and a lantern in the other. Beneath the floor, boys were placed, who held poles that went up through the principal %ures into the head, so that they could turn the heads round, or raise them up to a level with the chamber windows of the houses. Occasionally some political character, ob- noxious to popular ill will, was exhibited between the %ures of the Pope and the Devil. Thus the mar- quis of Bute was caricatured by a boot suspended
From Rome to Rome
The Pope is come. Amid ten thousand fears. With fiery serpents to be i
At eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. Don't you hear my little bell
Go chink, chink, chink. Please to give me a little money,
To buy my Pope soma dritfi.
28 LIFE or JAMES OTIS*
to a gsMoWfi : Commissidner Paxlddy*' who was a re- markably politte nwflfi, birt vtrj unpopular, was re- presented by a figure with thk label — ** every man's humble fierramt birt no marfs friend'* — Governor Bernard was personified by a tomcod, a small fish he was very fond of catching^ and consuming in his family^ a fondmw that wte attributed to his pc^si- mony. The pageanti of the two parties were pa- raded about iu the day time quietly ; but in the evening they met In Union Street, which was the line of deiHarcatioh between them* A struggle en- sued with all the fence they ocmld respectively mus- ter, and the object Waa to capture the " Pope'' of the other. This was commonly eifected at the ex- pence of some broken heads ; and if the South suc- ceeded, the trophies of the contest were carried to the Common and there consumed; if the ^orih was victorious, they wei^ taken to Copps Hill, where a bonfire was had^ followed by a jovkd supper. The sailors, mechanics, young man and boys of all classes, took part in these scenes. A story is related of one of them, that interest the feelings of the whole town at the time, and was productive of much cha- grin to one side, and of many a hearty laugh to the other. The Southrend had been unlucky for several years in the contests, when some young men, resolv- ed to retrieve its reputation* This tbey effected
* Charles Paxton was one of the Commissioners of the Customs, and ac- tively discharged the duties of a very unpopular office. He was remarkable for the finished politeness and courtesy of his manners : bat this, which nnight have been considered a merit at other times, was in the bittemets of partj struggles, turned gaicastically against him,
chieflj bj stratagem. They went down in conside- rable numbers in tlie evening to the lower part of Middle Street, and vootferated the usual cry, ^JVbrthr end forever!" Deceived bj this watch-word, the Northead Pope was brought out, when only a few of its real partizans were present, who joined this convoy of the <dtiemy^ as soon as they had carried it a little way, the disguised party, being joined by a number of their friends^ threw off the concealment, assumed their OAvn cry of Southr^nd Jbrever ! and car- ried the prize to a triumphal bonfire, in the Common. The termination erf these Popt days^ exhibits a characteristic trait of those times, and the docility of what might be considered a thoughtless, mob. The patriots of the town saw the mischief of these dissensions, wheti they wanted the feelings of the citizens to be united in the great object of opposi- tion to the measures of the British Ministry : they therefore brought about a reconciliation, and in 1774, had what was edied an UntGU Pope^ when the two parties, after great preparations, met with their pageahts, and exchanging amicable sa! rites, proceeded to make a common bonfire, and terminat- ed the fndic hj suppii^ together. This was in November, 1774. The next sprii^, the affairs of Lexington and Bunker Hill took place, and this foolish and turbulent practise, a striking mark of ootoinal subserviency, was never repeated.
30 UFE OF JAMES OTIS.
eiuiiiter KBk.
Extracts from ike Professional Correspondence of Otis,
The following extracts from a letter book con- taining copies of letters on business, are cited, be- cause so few fragments of Otis's manuscript can now be found. In the absence of more interesting cor- respondence, they may throw some light on his pro- fessional character. The deep feeling of respect and affection for the mother country, is exemplified in a very expressive word, that was commonly used in speaking of it, before the Revolution. England was called home^ not only by those officers whose appointment from thence made their responsibility center there, but even by those who had never seen that country, and had derived their descent through several generations of colonial residence. The word occurs several tinxes in these business letter^ — Thus in one dated in 1764, there are these phrases: ^^but has the cause continued, to know from home, if he is chargeable^' and again '^ since the matter was concluded by them, and the terms sent home for approbatioa" In a letter to his sis* ter, Mrs. Warren, in 1766 " the enemies of our peace entertain hopes that we shall get no relief from home." But the course of events a few years after^ made this distant home a foreign country ; and in defending their real home from the encroachments of
LIFE OF JAMES OTIS. SI
arbitrary power, they found, that this only could be the true object of their attachment.
The extracts from these letters are taken in the order of their dates. It will be shewn by them, that his political engagements, and interest in public affairs progressively increased, till he speaks of giv- ing up his professional pursuits altogether. The first extract is from a letter to ** Mr. Francis Rybot, London,'' dated November 22, 1763.—** I pray that your orders may be explicit, that I may come under DO blame, for when gentlemen send powers with orders to make demands, and in their letters ex- press fears least a suit should be brought, as you seem to do in yours, the consequence is, that all se- verities are to be laid to those they employ, which is a thing no man could run the risk of. I shall never take upon me to exercise my lenity at an- other man's expense, nor run the risk of involving myself for other people. If therefore at any time you would have compliance with your orders^ please to let me know whether I am only to de- mand, or in default of payment to sue, expressly."
^ To Messrs. Johnstone and others, assignees," &c. he writes May 16, 1764. '* I am sorry to tell you the London Gazette you send me, for the proof of the bankruptcy of Wright and Graham, and at an evidence that you were assignees, is of no more value than an old almanack in my opinion. If our courts would receive such a paper as evidence, it don't appear by the advertisement, when the com- ■lissioD issued, &c»" To the same, ^September
8S LIFE OF JAMES OTI&
35th 1764. I suppoBcd hj you, first application to me, that I was only to act in my prcxfession as a lawyer, and not as a merchant or factor, to settle accounts and vendue goods. However, it seems you expect bdh of me, without baying ever taken care, to this moment, to furnish me with the proper pa* pers to act in either quality. My request, is thai you would make a new power to some able mer- chant here, for I utterly decline beii^ any further amcerned, than till you have notice of this opportu- nity to make and send out such new powers, i have no inclination to merchandize.'' This last idea is expressed in letters to two other correspondents. In letters to two of these clients, who had at his re- quest transferred the agency of their affairs to a merchant,, whom he had recommended ; he says to one in June, 1765 — -** My discharge from the burden of your affaii-s is the more acceptable, as my en- gagements to the public, and the difficulties on the trade of this country, and my private concerns, ren- der it inconvenient for me to enter into more affairs than I have on hand." — To another — ^ I am glad of your resolution not to send me any other of your affairs, more especially as the times are rendered so diffioult here, that it is a very invidious employ to collect debts for gentlemen on your side of the water, and my own private affairs and engagements in the pmblic service, will not admit of my engaging any further in the conceiiis of others.''
He writes to Mr. Arthur Jones — September 13th, 1766. ^ With regard to the late measures you re-
UFE OF JAMES OTIS.
33
fer to 'm the former administration, ii I have been
instrumental oi any bcin-iii lo tlic interest ut" Gii"*^*^ — " . " And Ker Colo^ya^jfaic^, I ever con«><i«-M* **
^- '- A to
Z VW^ar-
f^ s« me
6
--J i/-
^ Q^^ <-
4^
^
p-^^-O-r.
3S
UFE OF JAMES OTia
F> I ^Yi-^ s^ >
Sdth 1764. I supposed i^ yon^ .6nt application to me, that I was only to act JBifflkr IBwttlfiiiftiW ^
lawyer, and not as a mcrdni0t';i
aocount?^
expect I to this I pend to i yoi* ^oi cha«^t he C(||X<^«rne nitjr to I ha^« no i is oi^pires
In letter
quiest t
itt^rcha>
on« J'^ of yo"
gsLgemc trstde o:
de^ i* " tban I \ yc^mjr pe
diificwlt ^|lectd€
ai3^ "*y^
j^l^lic se jje writ
'^Jk
UFE OF JAMES OTiS,
33
fer to *m the forraep adininiistratioQ, if I have bean strumental of any benefit to the intere&t of Great ColoDitiMfliiHMiMM^ '^'Misider ad
s of my inity of aj poor
shed to ar War-
ng some
October
my pro-
0 may at
Bervices.
• for any
ears had
two or
accept,
^ i should
j^v :Cook, as
K' Counsel, ^ I will by 90wer to 'transmit ipiimeDts •e regard •en,* for
le Bath. He
:eenied in the
England ex-
3S
LIFE OF JAMES OTI&
35th 1764. I suppoecd by you, first application to that I was only to act in my prcxfession as a
me,
UFE OF JAMES OTIS. 33
fer to in the foriaeF adminuitration, if I ba^e been instrumental of any benefit to the interest of Great Britain and her Colonies, which I ever consickr ad the same, I shall think it the great happiness of ray life, and can only wish for further opportunity of promo tif^ that interest to the utmost of my poor ability."
Oliver Ddancy, Esq. of New York, wished to engage him to act for the widow of Sir Peter War* ren, for various claims, in reply, after giving some account of the debtors, be goes on to say — ** October 6th, 1766 — ^I should ehoose to act only in my pro- fession, in which way, you Mid Lady Warren may at all times command bjoA depend on my best services. I should not incline to undertake as a factor for any person, having within these two or three years had more trouble and gained more ill will by two or three procurations, I was prevailed on to accept, than by all the transactions of my life. I should think it best for you to substitute Mr. Hancock, as there is no better man for your purpose if be will accept He wM of course apply to ,me as Counsel, es|)eciaHy if you desire it, amd Lady Warren will by that means be availed of all his and my power to serve her. if you think it Worth while to transmit a cop3^ of this, let my most respectful compliments attend it, wtth the behest assurances of the regard I have for the memory of Sir Peter Warren,* for
* Sir -Peter Warreo, was a Bfkisb Admiral, and knight of the Bath. He parfOfiq«d iqM\y gallant services, and was nueb koowu and esteemed in the northern colonies. He commanded the oaTal force in the New England ex-
34 LIFE OF JAMES OTIS.
the services he rendered this country.'' — Mr. De- lancj writes him in return, that it was at Mr. Hancock's su^estion he had been applied to, that the power of Attorney is made out, and in behalf of Lady W. urges the request that he would under- dertake the agency. He writes in answer, Octo- ber 13th, 1766. **Sir, next to suretyship, it has been the care of my life to avoid trusts, yet I am engaged in many more public and private, than I have capacity to discharge, as I could wish. It would give me equal pleasure to comply with your and Lady Warren's desire, but I clearly foresee so many difficulties that will attend the settlement of her affairs here, that I can by no means think of accepting the power you mention, at the same time if you think fit to substitute any person, I shall ever be ready and proud to assist him in my profession, if desired^ but I must repeat that I cannot accept of any power to me alone, or jointly with any other."
In a letter to Mr. Rybot of July 27th, 1767— " In answer to your^ of the 7th of January — I have waited on Mr. and he tells me it will much dis- tress him to be sued for the note of 300/. sterling ; in short it is impossible for him to pay it at present He also informs me, that you have given no express orders to sue the note, and being of opinion it is not for your interest to press him at present, I have not commenced any action against him. I am convinc-
pedition against Loui8t>ourg, in 1745. H« died in 175!^ in the 49t)i year of his age.
LIFE OF JAMES OTIS. 35
ed he is an honest man and will pay you as soon as possiUe. However, if you should think fit to pur- sue him, I desire you would send a power to some other person, as he is an old Iriehd,^ and I ^huse not to be concerned in any fiCiverity 'agjainst him, or any other getJ tie tyaij,** ^^^
In Noveaiber, 1768 writing to the same-^" B^t as I wrote you before, I d^eline that^ and all other affairs of tlic Jct^id, especially .aa'the .tilues ar^, and as I am winding up iny^ own concerns, ih .order as soon as posaible to retire from bi^siness.'' , / ;
To Mr, Arthur Joiie^ he writefiP^Notiember 26th, 1768- " All bosincss is at b^' stand here', j^ttle going on bt^^itles military mustersVapd ^ev}fim and other parading of the red coats, ^eent' hgre^^thff Lord I be- lieve only knows for whatj I ^imCaiKt, have been long concerpied more for Great Britain than for the colonies. ¥ou may ruin yourselfes,. but you cannot in the end.ruin the colonics— ^ur fathers, were a good peoplejj^ we have beefi^B free* people, -and if you will; not^let us remain so s^y longer, , we shall be a gfeajT people, and the- ^r^enf; measures can have ncr (einency but id ha^en .wi^ greiat rapidity, events,, which every ^)od And ^honest man would wish d^a^ed for age% if ^s^le^' pretentfed for* ever/* . ^ ■"^' ' L% •/ ' '' .' •
In twp*(6tter8 dated OctWj^r llth^ 1>69. There b this omiilous memoranduni-at the lop \^ ax paper of Bost9i numufiicture.'*^
His talents and learning placed him so much above those of his own standing, that he had n% 6
36 LIFE OF JAMES OTIS.
rival ; and though civil to those about him, he was not rery cautious in concealing the contempt he felt for {political enemies, who were inferior to him in ev^ry thing, but the power of their office, and who were, for the promotion of their private advantage, he believed, conspiring to min the comi- try. Havit^ cited Domat, in the course of some discussion, Governor Bernard enquired, *who he was?" — Otis answered, that, " he was a very dis- tinguished civilian, and not the less an authority, for being unknown to your Excellency,"
His mode of conducting causes, as an advocate, was consistent with his exteisive acquirements. He argued with boldness, eneigy and decision, with- out resorting to many of the subtleties^ and narrow expedients, that are allowable, and often employed in the common practice 6f lawyers. He was indeed conscious of his strength, proud and impatient of ri- valry. Governor Hutchinson, whose favourable tes- timony must have more weight, as being that of an enemy, said of him ; ** that he never knew fairer or more noble cotiduct in a pleader, than in Otis ; that he always disdained to take advantage of any t^leri- cal error, or similar inadvertence, but passed over minor points, and defended>his causes isolely on their broad and substantial foundations."
These desultory anecdotes and disconnefcted sketches of his private life, are selected from the few that can be now recovered. Hk prolessidnal reputation and influence, having been gradually es- tablished on the most soHd foundationd, were held
UFE OF JAMES OTH. 3f
ki the first rank, before he began hk career in pub- lic life, the date of which may be fixed, from his pleadii^ the cause of the Writs of Assistance. His learning and eloquence, on this occasion, gave him precedence over every member of his profession ; while his ardour and enthusiasm excited a coires- ponding feeling in the breasts of his fellow Citizens, who placed him at the succeeding election in the legislature of the Proyince. From that time, he be* came, for a period of ten years, the chief counsellor, and leading orator, in the course of resistance to arbi- trary encroachment, that brought on the declaratioQ of' independence. A cursory view of the adminis- tration of the Province, at this epoch, will shew more clearly the situation in which he was jJaced.
€kxpttt xar.
PoUtieal Situation of Mcu$aehuseit$ — Governor Shirley^-Lieiaenr ant Governor Phipps — Governor Povonal — Lieutenant Governor Hutcki$iton'-'Appointment of Governor Bernard — Colonial nuh nopoly.
The war which terminated in the Peace of 1763, was for several years almost the exdusive object of attention, among the people of the Northern Coloi^ nies ; and as Massachusetts was not only the most
^ LIFE OP JAMES OTIS.
considerable of these in wealth and population, but far exceeded her proportion, in contributions of men and money and efforts of all kinds in the public serf rice, her government had a very leading influence in all the transactions of the day. Jealousy and ani^ mosity towards the French, was in no part of the British dominions more keenly felt On the water, they met us as rivals in the fisheries, while on the land, all the frontier settlements from Novia Scotia to the Lakes, were subject, through French agency, to perpetual anxiety, and occasionally to the desolat- ing incursions, and horrible barbarities, of Indian warfare. The enmity arising from these causes was aggravated and kept in activity, by a deep he- reditary prejudice on account of their religion.
To overturn the power of France in Canada, was therefore the leading and engrossing wish in our politics ; and to effect this object we made vol- untary sacrifices, that perhaps were never exceeded by any people, whose whole territory was not over- run.* Mr. Shirley the Governor of Massachusetts, was indefatigable in stimulating the ministry, and the several colonies, to follow this course. He had dis- covered so much industry and ability in his govern- ment, although not bred to a military life, that he was made Commander in Chief of the military for- ces, after the death of General Braddock. The
brilliant success of the expedition to Louisbourg, in
- •*- - _ •
* At one period every third man was engaged in some branch of the sea or ^nd terricey and the taxes in Boston^ amounted to two thirds of the whole ipfont of the real ostata^
LIFE OF JAMES OTIS. «9
1745, undertaken under his auspices, gave him a reputation for the management of military opera- tions.* But the disappointments and defeats, that took place in the campaign of 1755, were attribut- ed to his want of skill in the immediate command of the forces. He was succeeded by General Abercrombie for only a few months, and then by Lord Loudon. Under this latter commander, the Colonies were involved in the deepest depression. His arrogance and indiscretion led him into disputes, and almost to make war against those he came to defend ; while his indecision and delay, inspired the enemy with confidence, wasted all the resources of the country, paralysed every operation, and exposed the colonists, to the greatest mortification and dan- ger. This period of imbecility and mismanagement dissipated much of that illusion, which had been felt in regard to the British regulars,t as they were called. The bold tone and arrogant presumption, which the regular army always assumed over the provincial troops, and which was commonly submit-
* Tbe capture of LouUbourg, by the Massacbusetto troops, was a fair sub- ject of triumph, and is oftei^ mentioned, in the subsequent annals of that pro- vince. That their idea of tho^importance of this operation is not sinj^ular, the following passage from Lord Cbesterfield^s works will serve to prove. <<This conquest was certai^ of great importance, and in the end procured peace ; but it was magnified to such a degree, that the noble Ditke, who u'as at the head of the Admiralty, declared, that if France was raaste'- of Ports- nouth, be would hang the man, who should give up Cape Breton in exchange.
Chesterfield's works, ▼. 2. p. 28-3.
t This distinction between i-egulars and provincials, which arose while they acted together, was retained long after. In popular language, the common term for the British troops, during the revolutionary war, was the <* regur
40 UFE OF JAMES OTI&
ted to as a matter of course, if not of right, joined to the real advantages they possessed, from their discipline and experience, gave them the reputaticm of being inyincible. The gross blunders, committed bj some of their generals'*^ and the ill success of most the attempts made by the regular army, were contrasted with many efficient and gallant serrices, performed by the provincials: and though the praise in the official accounts was as lavishly given to the former, as it was sparingly bestowed on the latter, the provincials themselves could not be blinded to the truth. The illusion, about the irre- sistible prowess of the British troops, was destroyed in the minds of many at this period ; and the conse- quences were shewn a few years afterwards, when these bodies were to be opposed to each other.
Governor Shirley, it was said, first received the plan of the Ministry for taxing America ;t but his knowledge of the people, and his wish to direct their utmost efforts against the French, made him dis- courage the project, and prevented its being at- tempted during his administration. He had suffi- cient sagacity and influence, to lead public opinion
* Among the documents on this subject, the eloquent letters of Washing- ton, on the conduct of the army, under Generals Braddock and Forbes, are remarkable. Those who wash to study the history of this period, will read a pamphlet by Lord Sterling, entitled " the conduct of Major General Shirley^ late General and Commander in Chief of his Majesty *8 Forces, in North America, briefly stated^ also another defending Lord Loudon, called ** The Conduct of a noble commander in America, briefly reviewed." These with two or three other pamphlets, relating to military affiairs in America during that war, may be found in the library of the Historical Society, in the volume of tracts marked, C. D. 17.
+ Minot.
UFE OP JAMES OnS. 41
entirely to this great ob^t, and continued to be popular, in his goreitunent, notwithstanding the bur- d^is that were laid on the country, and the ill succesd of his later military enterprises. His recall has been attributed, in part, to the intrigues of his suc- cessor, though the charge involves ingratitude at least, if not treachery."*^ A long residence in the provikx^e, gave him a clear insight into the character of the people : and he succeeded in being popular here, without losing the confidence of the ministry. At a later period, he might perhaps have been in- roived in the difficulties which rendered some of hk suocesdors odious : but one motive to the course they pursued, an avaricious and grasping spirit, he was exempt from. He was disinterested, and No- vated above the sordid pursuit of accumulating money. Though placed in situations that furnished him many opportuniti^ of enriching himself, yet he €lied without fortune. One of the most important services he rendered, was the abolitign of the paper currency in 1749, which was greatly owing to his firmness and perseverance.
He left the country highly respected and belov- ed, and was sent to Paris, as a Commissioner, to set- tle the subject of boundaries : The powers he had exercised here, of Governor of one of the principal
* Some details on this matter may be found in a memoir of Governor LlTingston of New York» entitled, « A Review of Military operations, in Iforth America from 1753 to 1756." It is a well written and very interesting historical document, though allowances must be made for its party feelings. It may be found in the 7th volume first series of the Massachusetts Histori* cml Society's GoUectioas.
42 LIFE OF JAMES OTI».
colonies, with the supremacy over others in militarj a.Tairs, made him rivals and enemies in abundance. The unfortunate events of the war were also laid to his charge ; but the circumstance, that wholly de- stroyed his popularity here, the mention of which will throw light on the character of the times, was, that he married a second wife in Paris, who was a Catholic ! In the language of Dr. Eliot, ^ this was disgusting to the province, as the people, at that time, detested the French and all popish connections.'' He did not however lose the confidence of the ministry, who gave him the Government of the Ba- hamas, in which place he was succeeded by his son. Governor Shirley returned to Boston in 1770, and died at his seat in Roxbury, the next year.*
Mr. Phipf)s,t the Lieutenant Governor, administer- ed the government for a short period, after Shirley was recalled, till the arrival of Governor Pownall in 1757. This gentleman first came to this country as Secretary of Sir Danvers Osborne, Governor of New York, and was then appointed Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey. Shirley took him into his confidence, and communicated his plans to him ;
• He built the spacious mansion in Roxbury, called Shirley Place, now •wned by the Hon. W. Ctistis In King's Chapel in Boston, there is a hand- some mural monument on the North side, erected to bis first wife and daugh- ter.
t Mr. Phipps, was the nephew of Sir William Phipps, and inherited his for- tune, be was made T ieutenant Governor in 1732, in which post he continued till his death April 4th, 1757. His talents were not of a class to make him conspicuous as a statesman, but in the discharge of his functions, he was es^ teemed a prudent, upright magistrate.
L1F£ OF JAMES OTIS. 43
and he was accused of betrajing this trust, fay an^ ticipating all the important information in his own communicatioos to the ministry. He doubtless saw the defects of Shirley as a military commander, and in taking part with his enemies, Delancey and Sir William Johnson, he acted with private ingratitude, thot^h it might conduce to the public good to effect a change in the command. He went to England in 1756« His connections were respectable, and his brother was Secretary of the Board of Trade.* He was there appointed Govemoi' of Massachusetts. His politics were those of Chatham, and he came to hk goyemment full of zeal and animation to promote the grand and decisive policy of that minister, for putting an end to the contests with France in America, by depriving that power of all its North American possessions.
On his arrival in his government, he could not be greeted with much cordiality, by those officers of the customs, and other departments, who had been the friends of Shirley ; and who thought the new governor had used unfair intrigues to supersede him. Their politics also were not of the same school* He cared less about enforcing the ob- noxious acts of trade, and the collections of the revenue from them, than for a vigorous prosecution of the war. To this point he directed all his ef-
* To Jobs Powna), Esq. Secretary of the Board of Trade, the world owef the preiervatioa of a vast number of valuable documents relating to the Co- lonies, which were ia a very neglected state, and in danger of being wholly losu
7
44 LIFE OF JAMES OTIS.
forts, and gave many proofs of activity and address. He took into his confidence such men as Judge Pratt and Dr. Cooper, who had much popular influ- ence, and he associated affably and readily with all classes of people. This conduct counteracted in some degree the prejudice he excited in a commu- nity, distinguished by a very severe tone of man- ners ; in which the light and free conduct of a man of wit and pleasure, appeared wholly unsuited to the formal dignity, and cautious propriety, which was expected in their chief magistrates.*
Hutchinson was appointed Lieutenant Governor in 17/)8, and as he was then very popular, he was of great use in aiding the Governor, in his efforts to draw out all the resources of the province in the prosecution of the war. There was however neither similarity of manners, nor cordiality of feel- ing between them. Pownal associated very inti- mately with the enemies of Hutchinson, and the latter in his turn exerted himself to destroy the
* In one of the satirical pieces, it was objected to him, that he would some- times, *< sit in the chair, without a sword, in a plain short frock, unruffled shirt, with a scratch wig and little rattan.*^ — Externals were all important in those days, and this neglect of the appropriate costume, was considered a very improper levity. The title of this pamphlet, which is in the library of the Historical Society, (C. c. 3.) is as follows : *< Proposals for publishing by subscription, the History of the public life, and distinguished actions of Vic* Admiral, Sir Thomas Braien, commander of an American Squadron in th* last age. Together with his slighter adventures and more entertaining an- ecdotes in three volumes in quarto, adorned throughout with cuts : being the judicious abridgment of the unwearied author's own most elaborate and costly performance, of thirty one volumes in folio. By Thomas Thumb, Esq. surveyor of the customs, and clerk of the Check. — 1760."
LIFE OP JAMES OTIS. 45
Governor's popularity.* But these differences, for- tunately, did not operate to impede the efforts of the province in the prosecution of the war. Massa- chusetts, and the neighbouring colonies, strained eve- ry nerve in the contest, and the glorious campaigns under 'Wolfe and Amherst, realized the compre- hensive designs of Lord Chatham, and extinguished the French power on this continent.
Governor Pownal began his administration ia Massachusetts, at a period when the country was depressed, both from the great sacrifices and the re{>eated disasters of the previous years. Under the auspices of an energetic minister, the whole as- pect of affairs was soon changed, and the conquest of Canada, the great object of New England for half a century, completely obtained. His administration, though short, was eminently successful. But he found all the principal officers of Government op- posed to him ; and the friends of Shirley endeavour- ing to make him odious for his conduct towards that officer, and called in wit and ridicule to aid their cause. He therefore, after two years residence, obtained leave to exchange his government for that of South Carolina, and left Boston in June 1760, the two
* Powoal had induced the legislature, to erect a monument, in Westminster Abbej, to Lord Howe, who fell in the attack against Ticonderoga. Out of of the many monuments, rottd by legislatures in this country, this is nearly the only one, that has ever been executed. In 1760 a monument was voted to the memory of General Wolfe, to be erected at the east end of the town house, in King Street. Hutchinson displayed, with considerable success, to the minds of the members of the legislature, the enormous expense to the province of this monument, which cost 250/. ! If the Governor had remained longer, it would have been a powerful instrument fot destroying his popularity^
46 LITE OF JAMES OTIS.
branches of the legislature shewii^ their respecti by accompanying him to the place of embarkation. He held this appointment but a short time, before he resigned it, to be sent in an official capacity to. the combined army in Germany in 1762. After he obtained a seat in parliament, he opposed all the measures of the ministry which led to the war of separation. He argued in favour of giving the Colonies a representation in Parliament, considering their situation to be analogous to that of the Coun- ties Palatine in England. His views were in some degree like those of Dr. Franklin, in wishing to keep the empire together. Governor Pownal was a member of the Royal Society and fond of scientific pursuits. He died at Bath in February 1805, in his eighty fourth year.*
Hutchinson, as Lieutenant Governor, administered the affairs of the province about two months, till the arrival of Governor Bernard, who was promot- ed to Massachusetts from New Jersey, which pro- vince he had governed very acceptably. He ar» rived at a fortunate moment, to enter upon his new government, and public opinion was prejudiced io
* He published masj parliamentary ipeechev, and political and tdentifi^ tracts. Hit style is rather harsh and obscure. The best of his works was << the administration of the colonies,^ in 1764, which went through several editions* His first work was '* Principles of Polity** in 1752; he also wrote a Memoir on East India affairs : a memoir on drainage : topographical description of Korth America : Letter to Adam Smith : a memorial to the sovereigns of Europe, on the state of affairs between the old and new World : a memorial addressed to the Sovereigns of America : on the study of Antiquities ; de-* scription of Romaq anU<)uitios in Qaul : Intellectual physics : a u«atise oq old age,
LITE or JAMES OTIS. 47
im £ayoun This harmoDy continued for a time, though he rery early took exclusively into his coDAdence the officers of the revenue, and their connections, and made the Lieutenant Governor his chief adviser. This course led to great results. Shirley, though in principle a friend to prerogative, and the supreme power of parlia- ment over the colonies, had skilfully avoided, as much as possible, all disputes on these subjects, and had conciliated parties, and balanced them against each other. Pownal, with different political sympathies, naturally confided in the leaders of the popular party, knowing that the officers of govern- ment must support his measures of course ; and per- ceiving that the .great object, both with the ministry at home, and the rulers of the province, was a vigo^ rous prosecution of the war, he knew if he could promote this policy,, he might neglect minor objects, with impunity both to himself and the public The course of avoidii^ a collision with popular sentiment on the snbjects of revenue and taxation, which had thus been followed for a period of fifteen years, through the administration of these two governors, was departed from by their successor, almost in the outset of his career. The friends he adopted, and the counsels he followed, a^^ravated the difficulties between the mother country and the colonies, every year ; and were a very leading cause, among those arising out of individual influence, of the ultimate resort to open resistance by the latter.
There is something so monstrous in the general
48 UFE OF JAMES OUS.
system of colonial monopoly, that we look back with some degree of surprise at the attempt to fas- ten on a free, intelligent and active people, the odi- ous shackles of a rigid colonial system. From the time of our resistance to such tyranny, down to the present day, its injustice and impolicy have been growir^ more and more apparent The first great blow it received, was the emancipation of the Unit- ed States; and that event inevitably leads to its final destmction. France, Holland, Portugal and Spain, have successively seen this colonial power torn with violence, or fall by its own weight, from their hands ; and the period is obviously not remote, when in every instance, the subjects of the same empire, whatever may be their location, will require an equality of rights, in disposing of the produce of their industry. The whole clumsy and oppressive scheme of mutual restrictions and alternate monopo- lies will be done away.. The only case where they can, or do now exist, is in regard to colonies whose produce is altogether agricultural, rich in amount, but comprising a very few articles: where the population, being composed of a few proprietors and a large body of slaves, is intrinsically too feeble to resist either foreign aggression or domestic com- motion; and therefore needs on every ground a force from the parent country for protection. Yet, the progress of enlightened views in political econo- my, and wider experience of the beneficent effects of free intercourse, on the activity and industry of mankind, must eventually bni^ all civilized nations^
LITE OF JAMES OTiS. 49
even those who possess such colonies, to abolish the greater part of the restrictive system.
The most conspicuous example of its absurdity and injustice, that the world has seen, was shewn in the case of the British North American provinces, espe* cially those of New England. The inhabitants were descended from that virtuous, but stem and inflexible part of the English nation, who could neither com- pound with, nor endure, the chains of ecclesiastical or regal tjrranny ; and who sought and found,' at their own risk and expence, a country where they might be exempt from both. This they purchased from its natural owners, cultivated with their own hands, and defended with their own blood. The colonies thus formed, deriving nothing from the royal government but the form of a charter, which that government violated at will, found themselves, in process of time, under the protection of that same government, as soon as they afforded an ob- ject to increase its patronage. The kind of protec- tion growing out of this circumstance, and they hardly experienced any other, increased, as they flourished. It exposed them to wars occasioned by European quarrels, and entailed upon them numbers- less sacrifices and sufferings. The moment that the great cause of these misfortunes, the French power in Canada, had been destroyed, which was effected mainly by their efforts, they began to find that the protection^ as it was called, of the parent country, was to receive a most portentous extension ; it entered all their fields, penetrated all their dwellings, mingled
90 UFE OF lABIES OTIS.
with their food, regulated all their enterprises, and finally claimed a right, ^^ to bind them in all cases whatsoever/'
The northern colonies had no great staple of agriculture, to employ their labour and afford them wealth* Indi^try and enterprise might make them amends, by enabling them to secure the comforts, and gradually to accumulate the wealth, that would furnish the luxuries of life ; but they found their es> ertions impeded in every direction. Even the fishe- ries, which formed a very important part of their employment, were put in jeopardy, by some of the regulations consequent on the " Acts of Trade." They seemed in fact to be made the victims of every separate interest in the Empire, and in all cases of rivalry they were the party to be sacrifi- ced; they were not allowed to manufacture, be- cause the manufactures of the parent country would be injured ; they were confined in their navi* gation, because the shipping interest in England would suffer ; they were not allowed to sell their fish for French and Spanish molasses, because the sugar colonies would not have the monopoly of sup* plying them ; they could not import teas from HoU land, because it interfered with the East India Com- pany ; they could not trade with Spain and Portugal nor any other nation, because it infringed the navir gation laws.* Under this colonial system, thwarted
* Vet DOt satisfied with thifi exclusive posgession of tbeir trade, the English g^overnment claimed the rif^hl of unlimited taxation. "Whether," pays Burke, " you wero right or wrong, iu ertabiishing the colonifs on the pfinci*
UFE OF JAMES OTiS. 51
in every movement, they received no equivalent for their deprivations, and were constantly restive and refractory : the system indeed was wholly inapplica- ble to them, unless they were doomed to poverty. Ignorance, and insignificance. Under such a system, ft was truly remarked by Sir Josiah Child^ and steadily inculcated bj all his followers ; ** that New ISngland is the most prejudicial plantation to the kingdom of England.^^ Yet what a fine illustration is given by this very country, to the beneficent ef- fects of a liberal spirit in the regulations of com- merce, and the incalculable advantages of destroy- ing colonial monopoly. Since this " prejudicial plan- tation of New England,'' has formed part of a free country, has been allowed full scope to its industry, sending its ships wherever the wind bloweth ; it has increased in its consumption of English products a thousand fold, without costing England a dollar for government or protection.
pies of commercial monopoly, rather than on that of revenue, is at this day a problem of mere speculation. You cannot have both by the same authori- ty. To join together the restraints of an universal internal and external taxation, is an unnatural union : perfect uncorhpensated slavery. You have long since decided for yourself and them; and you and they have prospered «xeeedingly under that decision.^
52 UFE or JAMES OTIS.
.Application for Writs of Assistance — Hutchinson appointed Chief Justice — Dissatisfaction of Otis — Chief Justice PratP^Oxen- bridge Thacher^Opening of the Cause ofthe'fVrits of Assistance by Oridley and Thacher.
Immediately after, the conquest of Canada was completed, rumors were widely circulated, that a diflerent system would be pursued, that the char- ters would be taken away, and the colonies reduced to royal governments. The offices of the customs began at once to enforce with strictness, all the acts of parliament regulating the trade of the colonies, several of which had been suspended, or become obsolete, and thus had never been executed at all. The good will of the colonists or their legislatures, was no longer wanted in the prosecution of the war ; and the commissioners of the customs were permitted and directed to enforce the obnoxious acts. Governor Bernard, who was always a suppor- ter of the royal prerogative, entered fully into these views, and shewed by his opinion, his appointments and his confidential advisers, that his object would be, to extend the power of the government to any limits, which the ministry might authorize.
The first demonstration of the new course intend- ed to be pursued, was the arrival of an order in Council to carry into effect the Acts of trade, and to apply to the supreme judicature of the Province,
LIFE OF JAMES OTIS. 53
for Writs of Assistances to be granted to the officers of the customs. In a case of this importance there can be no doubt, that Mr. Paxton, who was at the head of the customs in Boston, consulted with the Government and all the crown officers, as to the best course to be taken. The result was, that he directed his deputy at Salem, Mr. Cockle, in No- vember 1760, to petition the Superior Court, then ntting in that town, for ** writs of assistance.'^ Ste- phen Sewall* who was the Chief Justice, expressed great doubt of the legality of such a writ, and of the authority of the Court to grant it. None of the other judges said a word in favour of it ; but as the application was on the part of the Crown, it could not be dismissed without a hearing, which after con- sultation was fixed for the next term of the Court, to be held in February, 1761, at Boston, when the question was ordered to be argued. In the inter-> val. Chief Justice Sewall died, and Lieutenant Go- vernor Hutchinson was made his successor, thereby uniting in his person, the office of Lieutenant Gover-r nor with the emoluments of the commander of the castle, a member of the Council, Judge of Probate and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court !t This
* Stephen Sewall, then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, belonged to one of the most respectable families in New England, whieh has produced seve- ral learned and able men. This gentleman stood very high in public esteem, for his honour, integrity, moderation, and great benevolence. He died in I>ecember, 1760; and the loss of this impartial, high minded magistrate, at that critical period, was rightly esteemed a public misfortune. >
t Besides these offices held by himself, one of his brothers in law was Secretary of State, and thea a judge of the Supreme Court, and a mein*^
54 LIFE OF JAMES OTW.
appointment was unexpected and alarming to all re- flecting miods ; because it was evident, that this im- portant |Jace could not hare been given to a man who already held so many offices, some of which were quite incompatible with the place of Chief Justice, unless seconding the des^ns of government in all cases, was to be the excuse and the return for such extraordinary favours.
There were some circumstances oi a personal kind connected with this appointment, that formed the ground work for very malicious and absurd mis- representation. It was generally believed, that the place of Chief Justice, whenever it should become vacant, had been promised by Governor Shirley to James Otis^s father, and that revenge for the disap- pointment was the cause of all his subsequent oppo- sition. The language that was imputed to him by common report on this occasion, and which has been transmitted down, was according to one ver^ sion, ^ that he would set the province in dames, though he perished in the fire'* or according to ano- ther, m part of a well known line, Aduronta move^ ba:^ though neither of these speeches was ever authenticated. That Otis should have perceived, as clearly as any man, the impropriety and the dan- ger of giving so many incor^ruous offices to one in- dividual ; that he would readily infer that the nomina-
ber of (he CouBcil^ AfterwardB one of them was Comminloner of ttanqpey and when Hutchinton became Governor, hit tons were consignees of the Tea ; the greediness of this family was uniform. t Flectere s| neqveo Superos, Aeheroata moTek^
UFS OF JAMES OTIS. ftS
tioD could not hare been made except from sinister ; Tiews, that be should have felt disgust and indigna- tion at the rapacity which could seek for such a monopoly of offices ; that his quick and generoua feelings should be roused at what he might consider an injury to a parent, is natural ; but that his public career should have been foreyer guided by this transient emotion, is preposterous and impossible./. It supposes a degree of dishonesty inconsistent with the powerful talents, which even his bitterest ene- mies acknowledged. If he had not been governed by principle, and taken the side which duty dic- tated, he was acting a part in sheer folly ; for his talents, which led all the measures of opposition for a series of years, would haye been retained on the opposite side at any, price, and if his purpp^e hgid been only to revenge his father^s cause, the cer- tain mode of doing so, would have been to take part with the government. The motives of human conduct are seldom unmixed, and even the best men may, through the mfirmities of nature, have some alloy with their noblest intentions. But there is no surer mark of a base and envious mind, than the belief, that narrow, sordid views, can be the exclusive means of giving to eminent men a lasting impulse in the career of public life.*
* In writing upon this topic, Mr. Adams remarlts : <' It is proToking, and it is AStooishuag, and it is bumiltating, to see how calumny sticks and is transmitted
irma age to age. Mr. is one of the last men that I should have expect*
ed to have swallowed that execrable lie, that Otis had no patriotism. The father was refuted an office worth 1200t old tenor, or about ISO/. StetUng, aad the refiual was no los% for his practice at the bar was werth much more ;
56 UFE OF JAMES OTIS.
The mercantile part of the comraunitj was in a state of great anxiety, as to the result of this ques- tion. The officer of the Customs called upon Oti» for his official assistance, as Advocate General, to argue their cause. But, as he believed these writs to be illegal and tyrannical, he refused. He would not prostitute his office to the support of an oppres- sive act ; and with true delicacy and dignity, being unwilling to retain a station, in which he might be expected er called upon to argue in support of such odious measures, he resigned it, though the situation was very lucrative, and if filled by an incumbent with a compliant spirit, led to the highest favours of government.
The merchants of Salem and Boston, applied to Mr. Pratt* to undertake their cause, who was also
for Colonel Otis was a lawyer in profitable practice, and his seat in the legit* lature gave him more power and more honour ; for this refusal, the son resign- ed an office which he held from the Crown, worth twice that sum. The sob must have been a most dutiful and affectionate child to the father ; or rather most enthusiastically and frenzically affectionate.*'
* Benjamin Pratt, Chief Justice of New York, was gifted by nature with strong talent and energy of mind, and he affords a striking example how these may raise one from a humble lot, and make even calamity the foundation of prosperity. Mr. Pratt was bred a mechanic, and met with a serious injury that disabled him from pursuing his trade. He turned his mind to study, went to college, and took his degree at Cambridge, 17S7. He studied law, and rosa to great distinction at the bar. Through the friendship of Governor Pownal, he was made Chief Justice of New York,- in 1761 ; and on his first arrival there, was looked at by the Judges and the bar with reserve and dislike, from bis being brought from another province to preside over them. A cause of great difficulty which had been many years depending, being brought up soon after he had taken his seat, gave him an opportunity of displaying the depth and acuteness of his intellect, and the soundness of his judgment, and secured for him at once, the public respect. He wrote some political essays on the top* let of the day ; aed a few reniainiiig fragments in verse of his compositionj
UPE OF JAMES OTIS. 57
solicited to engage on the other side ; but he dech'n- ed taking any part, being about to leave Boston for New York, of which province he had been appoint- ed Chief Justice. They also applied 'to Otis and Thacher, who engaged to make their defence, and probably both of them without fees, though very great ones were offered. The language of Otis was, ^ in such a cause, I despise all fees.''
Mr. Thacher, the colleague of Mr: Otis in this\ great cause, was at that time one of the heads of the bar in Boston, was a fine scholar, and possessed/ of much general learning. He received his degree at Cambridge in 1738; he first studied divinity, and began to follow a profession which had been that of his ancestors for several generations, but his voice being too weak for the pulpit, he gave it up to study law. His family was one of the most respec- table in the Province, and his own character and manners were such, as to secure affection and es- teem. Unassuming and affable in his deportment, of strict morality, punctual in his religious duties, and with sectarian attachments that made him, like a large majority of the people, look with jealousy and enmity on the meditated encroachments of the English hierarchy, he was in all these respects fit^ ted to be popular. T9 these qualities he joined the most pure and ardent patriotism, and a quick preception of the views of those in power. He had been for a long time watchful of Hutchinson's ambi-
f rove that he potseised both taste and talent for poetry. He presided orer the Coi^rU of IVew York but two foan, dyiog in 1763> at the age ef 54>
58 LIFE OF JAMES OTIS.
tion, but when he heard of his taking the place of Chief Justice, he no longer restrained his feeKngs, but on all occasions spoke of him with the contempt and indignation, that his selfishness and sinister con- duct deserved. The opposition of Thacher gave the government great tmeasiness: his disposition and habits secured public confidence, and while ho moderation preserved him from the imputation of ambition, his learning and ability gave weight to his opmions, and prevented him from being considered as under the influence of others. Such a man might be esteemed an impartial umpire between the government and the people, and his example had naturally great weight with them. There was no pretext for assigning any unworthy motive for the part he took ; and he was therefore the more to be dreaded. Mr. Adams says, " they hated him ivorse than they did James Otis or Samuel Adams, and they feared him more, because they had no revenge for a father's disappointment of a seat on the Superior bench to impute to him, as they did to Otis.''
He published some essays on the subject of am alteration proposed by Hutchinson relative to the value of gold and silver ; in which controversy, as will be noticed hereafter^ Otis took part on the same side. Thacher also wrote a pamphlet against the policy of the Navigation Act, and the Acts of Trade. This pamphlet is entitled "The Senti- ments of a British American'' printed in 1764. It is temperate, though earnest, and well written, the
LIFE OF JABIES OTIS. 69
hardship and impolicy of these measures is very ably illustrated — His motto is a fable of Phoedrua, of which the close is a key to his sentimenta
Ergo quid refert mea Cui serviam ? clitelias dmn portem meas*
He died of a pulmonary complaint, aggravated by his excessive anxiety respecting public affairs in 1765, after having been two years in the legislature from the town of Boston.*
The trial took place in the Council Chamber of the Old Town House, in Boston. This room was situated at the east end of that building, and like all the interior parts, has since undergone various alterations. At that time it was an imposing and elegant apartment, ornamented with two splendid full length portraits of Charles H. and James H. The Judges, in those days, in conformity to European practice, attached a part of their official dijgnity to a
* " Not long before bis death,** says President Adams, « be sent for me, to oommit to my care some of bis business at the bar. I asked him whether be bad seen the Virginia resolves : << Oh yes — they are meb ! they are noble Sfnrits ! It kills me, to think of the lethargy and stupidity that prevails here, I long to be out. I will go out — ^I will go out — I will go into Court and make a speech, whioh shall be read after my death, as my djring testimony against this infernal tyranny, which they are bringing upon us." Seeing the violent a^itatibn into which it threw him, I changed the subject as soon as possible, tfnd retired. He bad been confined for some time. Had he been abroad among the people, he could not have complained so pathetically of the '* lethargy and stupidity,'' for town and country were all alive ; and in Au- gust, became active enough, and some of the people proceeded to unwarran- table excesses, which were more lamented by the patriots, than by their ene- mies. Mr. Thacbar soon died, deeply lamented by all the friends of thelf country.'*
9
60 LIFE OF JAMES OTIS.
peculiar costume, which in later times they haye here discarded. Their dress was composed of vo- luminous wigs, broad bands, and robes of scarlet cloth. The judges were five in number, including Lieutenant Governor Hutchinson, who presided as Chief Justice. The room was filled with all the officers of government, and the principal citizens, to hear the arguments in a cause, that inspired the deepest solicitude.
The case was opened by Mr. Gridley, who argu- ed it with much learning, ingenuity and dignity, urg- in'^ every point and authority, that could be found after the most diligent search, in favour of the Cus- tom house petition; makii^ all his reasoning de- pend on this consideration — ^ if the parliament of Great Britain is the sovereign legislator of the Bri- 1 tish Empire.''* He was followed by Mr. Thacher on the opposite side, whose reasoning was ingenious and able, delivered in a tone of great mildness and moderation. " But,'' in the language of President Adams, ** Otis was a flame of fire ; with a prompti-
• TbU summary account of Mr. Gridl«y*8 argument, iifrom President Ad- ams* letters. In Minot's History, Vol. 2. p. 87. A short statement of bis argu- ment i» given, which tends to shew that this writ was founded on statutes of the 12tb and 14th of Charles II. ; and the authority of the Supreipe Court in this Province to grant it, was to be derived from the statute of the 7th apd Sth of William HU which gave officers of the revenue in thi:i country the tame pnwe|;ji as officers in England — And that in the execution of their duty they should ret. ceive the Hke astfttanee. The obvious meaning of this seems to be, that an offi- cer in case of necessity should have a right to tall tor the same support from those about bim iu pursuance of his duty. It seems a most stained and pr epos- terous inference, to make the general term, likeatsiflojice^ mean a spuciul and odioui^ process called a iml of (mittancey invQDted in the worst timet of the Sluart tyranny.
LIFE OP JAMES (VTIS. 61
tude of classical allusions, a depth of research, a rapid summary of historical events and dates, a pro- fusion of legal authorities, a prophetic glance of his eyes into futurity, and a rapid torrent of impetuous eloquence, he hurried away all b: fore him. Ameri- can Independence was then arid there born. The seeds of patriots and heroes, to defend the JVon sine Diis animosus infans ;* to defend the vigorous youth, Were then and there sown. Every man of an im- mense crouded audience appeared to me to go away as 1 did, ready to take arms against Writs of Assis- tance. Then and there, was the first scene of the ih^t act of opposition, to the arbitrary claims of Great Britain. Then and there, the child Indepen- dence was bom. In fifteen years, i. e. in 1776, he grew up to manhood aiid declared himself free."
^ There were no stenographers in those days," to give a complete report of this momentous harangue. How gladly would be exchanged for it, a few hun- dred verbose speeches on some of the miserable, transient topics of the day, that are circulated in worthless profusion. Yet on this occasion, " the seeds were sown," and though some of them doubt- less fell by the wayside or on stony places, others fell
* This allusion is to the AlHance Medal^ struck in Paris. One side of which
contains the bead of Liberty, with the vrotda lAberUu Americana^ 4th July
1776, and on the reverse a robust infant struggling with the serpent, attacked
by a Lion, (England) defended by Minerva, (France) who interposes a shield
with the JUun de Hty and on which the Lion fastens : the motto, furnished
by Sir William Jones, M'on sine diis anmonu infanSf and underneath the
dates 17^, 1777. 19 ^^ 1781.
62 LIFE OP JAMES OTIS.
on good ground, and sprang up and increased and brought forth in due season, thirty, sixty and an hundred fold. Of the vigour of some of the soil that received this seed, the preceding quotation is a living and most eloquent proof. It indeed af- fords some compensation for the absence of contemr , porary records, and the subsequent neglect of this great leading transaction, that one of the hearers, after the lapse of sixty years, with all the authority which venerable age and illustrious services can confer, should have called the attention of his countrymen to the subject ; and by a rare and felici- tous force of memory, carrying back their regards over the course of two generations, have exhibited with a magical effect through the obscurity of time, an impressive and brilliant sketch, of one of the first struggles that led to their national existence.
efui9ter 8?K.
Otis^s Speech in the Cause of the Writs of Assistance.
Anxiety and expectation were raised to the ut- most in the minds of all parties, to hear the argument of Otis, which he began in the following manner.*
* The fragments of this speech aio taken from Minot's History, Vol. 3. H peens from the letters of President Adams, that they were derived from
UFE OF JABiES OTIS. 63
^^ MAY IT PLEASE YOUR HONOURS,
** I was desired by one of the Court to look into the books, and consider the question now before them concerning Writs of Assistance. . I have ac- cordingly considered it, and now appear not only in obedience to your order, but likewise in behalf of the inhabitants of this town, who have presented another petition, and out of regard to the liberties of the subject. And I take this opportunity to de- clare, that whether under a fee or not, (for in such a cause as this I despise a fee,) I will to my dying day oppose with all the powers and faculties God has given me, all such instruments of slavery on the one hand, and villany on the other, as this writ of assistance is.
^ It appears to me the worst instrument of arbi- trary power, the most destructive of Ejiglish liber- ty and the fundamental principles of law, that ever was found in an Elnglish law book. ' I must there- fore beg your honoui*s^ patience and attention to the whole range of an argument, that may perhaps appear uncommon in many things, as well as to points of learning that are more remote and un- usual : that the whole tendency of my design may the more easily be perceived, the conclusions better descend, and the force of them be better felt. I shall not think much of my pains in this cause, as I engaged in it from principle. I was solicited to
I imperfect notei, taken by him at the time, which were afterwards car- ried off by some individual, who « interpolated them, with some bombastic expressions of his own,*' and printed them in a newspaper.
66 LIFE OF JAMES OTIS.
ed ; and will find it adjudged, that special warrants only, are legal. In the same manner I rely on it, that the writ prayed £or in this petition, being gene- ral, is illegal. It is a power, that places the liberty of every man in the hands of every petty officer. I say I admit that special writs of assistance, to search special places, may be grajited to certain persons on oath; but I deny that the writ now prayed for can be granted, for I beg leave to make some observations on the writ itself, before I pro- ceed to other acts of Parliament. In the first place, the writ is universal, being directed ' to all and singular Justices, Sherifis, Constables, and all other officers and subjects ;' so that, in short, it is directed to every subject in the King's dominions. Every one with this writ may be a tyrant in a legal man- ner, also may control, imprison, or murder any one within the realm. In the next place, it is perpetu- al, there is no return. A man is accountable to no pei*son for his doings. Every man may reign secure in his petty tyranny, and spread terror and desola- tion around him, until the trump of the arch-angel shall excite different emotions in his soul. In the third place, a person with this writ, in the day time, may enter all houses, shops, &c. at will, and com- mand all to assist him. Fourthly, by this writ, not only deputies, &c. but even their menial servants, are allowed to lord it over us. What is this but to have the curse of Canaan with a witness on us ; t# be the servant of servants, the most despicable of God's creation? Now one of the most essential
Ura OF JAB03S OTIS. 67
branches of English liberty is the freedom of one's house. A man's house is his castle ; and whilst he is quiet, he is as well guarded as a prince m his eas* tie. This writ, if it should be declared legal, would totally annihilate this privilege. Custom-house officers may enter our houses when they please ; we are commanded to permit their entry. Their menial servants may enter, may break locks, bars, and every thing in their way : and whether ;they break through malice or revei^e, no man, no court, can inquire. Bare suspicion without oath is suffi- cient This wanton eiercise of this power is not a chimerical suggestion of a heated braia I will mention some facts. Mr. Pew had one of these writs, and when Mr. Ware succeeded him, he en- dorsed this writ over to Mr. Ware : so that, these writs are negotiaUe from one officer to another; and so your Honours have no opportunity of judg- ing the persons to whom this vast power is delegat- ed. Another instance is this : Mr. Justice Walley bad called this same Mr. Ware before him, by a eonstable, to answer for a breach of the sabbath-day aets, or that of 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 diew you a little of my power. I command you to permit me to search your house for uncustomed goods; and went on to search the house from the garret to the cellar ; anl then served the constable in the same manner ! But to shew another absur- dity in this writ, if it should be established, I inmt 10
68 LIFE OP JAMES OTIS.
upon it every person by the 14th Charles second^ has this power as well as the Custom-House officers. The words are, ^ it shall be lawful for any person or persons authorized, &ۥ'* ^ What a scene does this open ! Every man prompted by revenge, ill humo)]/, or wantonness to inspect the inside of %is neighbour's house, may get a writ of assistance* Others will ask it from self-defence ; one arbitrary exertion will provoke another, until society be in* volved in tumult and in blood.''
His ailment in this cause lasted between four and five hours, and the summary of it can be best, and can now be only given, in the words of Presi- dent Adams, who divides it into five parts as fol- lows : 1. ^ He began with an exordium, containing an apology for his resignation of the office of ad- vocate general in the court of admiralty ; and for his appearance in that cause in opposition to the crown, and in favour of the town of Boston, and the merchants of Boston and Salem."
2. ^ A dissertation on the rights of man in a state of nature. He asserted, that every man, merely^ natural, was an independent sovereign, subject to no t law, but the law written on his heart, and revealed \ to him by his Maker, in the constitution of his na- ture, and the inspiration of his understanding and hif conscience. His right to his life, his liberty, no created being could rightfully contest Nor Was his rij^ht to his property less incontestible. The club that he had snapped from a tree, for a staff or for defence, was his own. His bow and arrow were
UPE OF JABfEB OTW. W '^
his own ; if by a pebble he had killed a partridge or a squirrel, it was his own. No creature, man or beast, had a rigfit to take it from him. If he had taken an eel, or a smelt, or a sculpion, it was his property. In short, he sported upon this topic with so much wit and humour, and at the same time with so much indisputable truth and reason, that he was not less entertaining than instructive. He asserted, that these rights were inherent and inalienable. That they never could be surrendered or alieuatedy but^ by ideots or madmen, and all the acts ofldedls
and lllflfttinfl Wftrft YfiJA ^^ nn» /^Kli'gatr^fy^ \)y aJObc
laws of God BndjuQxui Nor were the poor negroes^ forgotten. Not a Quaker in Philadelphia, or Mr. Jefferson of Virginia, ever asserted the rights of ne- groes in stronger terms. Young as I was, and igno- rant as I was, I shuddered at the doctrine he taught ; and I have all my life shuddered, and still shudder, at the consequences that may be drawn from such premises. Shall we say, that the rights of masters and servants clash, and can be decided Dniy by force? I adore the idea of gradual aboli- tions ! but who shall decide how fast or how slowly these abolitions shall be made ?
3. ^ From individual independence he proceeded to association. If it was inconsistent with the dignity of human nature to say, that men were gregarious animals, like wild geese, it surely could offend no delicacy to say, they were social animals by nature ; that there were natural sympathies, and above all, the sweet attraction of the sexes, which must soon
70 LIFE OF JAMES OTIS.
draw them together in little groups, atkl by de-^ grees in larger congregations, for mutual assistance and defence. And this must have happened before any formal covenant, by express words or signs, was concluded. When general councils and delibera- tions commenced, the objects could be no other than the mutual defence and security of every individual , for his life, his liberty, and his property. To sup- j pose them to have surrendered these in any other way, than by equal rules and general consent, was to suppose them ideots or madmen, whose acts were
1 never binding. To suppose them surprised by fraud^ or compelled by force into any other compact, such fraud and such force could confer no obligation* Every man had a right to trample it under foot whenever he pleased. In short, he asserted these rights to be derived only from nature, and the au- thor of nature ; that they were inherent, inalienable, and indefeasible by any laws, pacts, contracts, cove- nants, or stipulations, which man could devise.
4, " These principles and these rights were wrought into the English constitution, as fundamental law^ And under this head he went back to the old Saxon laws, and to Magna Charta, and the fifty confirma- tions of it in parliament, and the executions ordain- ed against the violators of it, and the national ven- geance which had been taken on them from time to time, down to the Jameses and Charleses ; and to the position of rights and the bill of rights, and the revolution. He asserted, that the security of these frights to life, liberty and property, had been th«
LIFE OF JAMES OTKk 71 "^
object of ^1 those struggles against arbitrarj power, 1 temporal and spiritual, cirii add political, military^ i aod ecclesiastical, in every age. He asrorted, that our ancestors, as British subjects, and we, their de* scendants, as British subjects, were entitled to all those rights, by the British constitution, as well as^ by the law of nature, and'ottr provincial charter, as much as any inhabitant of London or Bristol, or any^ part of England ; and were not to be cheated out of them by any phantom of ** virtual representation,^ or any other fiction of law or politioB, or any monk- ish trick of deceit and hypocrisy* ^
5. ^ He then examined the acts of trade, one by one, smd demonstrated, that if they were considered as revenue laws, they destroyed all our security of property, liberty, and life, every r^ht of nature, and the English conetitutton, and the charter of the province. Here he considered the distinction be* tween ^ external and internal taxes,'' at that time m popular and coOMnon place distinction. But he asserted that there was no such distinction in theo- ry, or upon any princi{^ but ^necessity.'' The necessity that the commerce of the em^nre should be under one direction, was obvious. jThe Americans had been so sensible of this necessity, that they had connived at the distinction between external and in^ temal taxes, and had submitted to the acts of trade as regulations of commerce, but never as taxations, or revenue laws. Nor had the British government, till now, ever dared to attempt to enforce them as taxations or revenue laws. They had laid dormant in that character for a century ahnost The mvi-
/
72 LIFE OF JAMES OTIS.
IgatioD act he allowed to be binding up<ni us, be* fcause we had consented to it by our jown legislature. Here he gave a history of the navigation act of the first of Charles II., a plagiarism from Oliver Cromwell. This act had lain dormant for fifteen years. In 1675, after repeated letters and orders from the King, governor Leverett very candidly in- forms his majesty, that the law had not been execut* ed, because it was thought unconstitutional; par- liament not having authority over us."
Taking a rapid survey of the terrors and vexa- tions the colonists were exposed to under the reign of Charles I. and their tranquillity under the Com- monwealth, he came to the first fruits which they tasted of the restoration, to the celebrated Naviga- tion Act ; and he dwelt upon this as the first in or- der, among those acts which were now to be en- forced by the Writs of Assistance. The main pro- yisions of this act may be comprised in a very few words ; nothing should be imported into any of the English possessions in Asia, Africa or America, ex- ceptii^ in vessels belonging to the people of Ei^land, Ireland, Wales or the Town of Berwick upon Tweed, and besides being truly built and owned in said possessions, the master and three fourths of the sailbrs must be English ; and no goods of foreign production should be brought even in English ship- ping, except from the countries that produced them.
He expatiated on the narrow exclusive spirit of thb statute ; but he would pot deny either its policy or necessity, at the time of its enactment, because Ei^land was then surrounded by the power of
LITE OF JAMES OTIS. 73
France, Spain, and Holland ; nor would he blame the conduct of Governor Leyerett/ and the Massa- chusetts legislature in adopting it in 1675, after it had laid dormant for fifteen years. It was a sacri- fice thej were obliged to make ; but he contended, that the sacrifice was a very great one on the part of the colonies in general, and of New En^and in particular, and above all to the town of Boston. He thought this statute ought to have been sufficient to satisfy the ambition and cupidity of the mother country, who boasted so much of her indulgence and ajQTection for her colonies.
The navigation act, however, was wholly prohibi- tory, it abounded with penalties and forfeitures, but it imposed no taxes. The distinction therefore was vastly great between this and the Acts of Trade. Though no revenue was to be derived from this act» still it was intended to be enforced by these Writs, and houses were to be broken open and ran- sacked under their authority to enforce it. The Wnts of Assistance were thus extended in a man- ner, which had never been ccmtemplated. He di»- ft
* GoTernor LeTerett was the ion of Thomas Leverctt, a ruling elder of the first Church, and one of the earliest inhabitants of Boston. He had been in military life abroad before be received employment here, which happened in 1642, whan he was sent to demand satisfaction of the Sachem Miantino- mo. He was one of Cromweirs commissioners in 165S, to make war against the Dutch at Manhadoes (New York.) He was afterwards constantly in the publi^ ienrire. He was in England at the restoration, and a useful advo> aate for Massachusetu with the King, who did not look with much com- placency on a colony, whose attachmeuts were far more republican than foyal. Upon his return to Boston, he filled various oflices, and was made Governor, in 1673, and was chosen annually till his death. He died greatly beloved aad lamented, March 16th, 1678-9.
74 UFE OF JAMES OTIS.
cussed most amply, all the effects, which the acta of navigation produced upon the coloniest
There are, it may be here observed, few statutes enacted by any nation, that have been more impor- tant, or excited more discussion, than the English nav^tion act While the restrictive and monopo* lising system was thought to be sound political wis- dom, this act as forming an essential part of it, might be considered a masterpiece of policy ; but in pro^ portion, as wiser notions of national pdicy make their way into the councils of all civilized countries, and gradually eradicate the false and narrow principles of less enlightened periods, this act, which has been often relaxed in its operati<x), will probably so far as foreign trade is concerned, give way to the extension of liberal views in commerce ; which all free and industrious nations find every day to be more and more productive of advantage to themselves, as well as to the world at lai^e. Commerce is now gra- dually enlargii^ the prosperity and the rights of mankind ; and wise statesmen begin to believe more fully, that the general prosperity increases individual advantage ; and that nations gain not by depressing, but by a free intercourse with each other. This act did not meet with universal approbation at first, and in the lai^age of Sir Josiah Child ^^ some wise and honest gentlemen and merchants doubted, whether the inconveniences it has brought with it, be not greater than the conveniences.'* It is a curious cir- cumstance, that this act which has been cherished with so much bigotry in England, and which inflicted
UFE OF JAMES OTIS. 75
80 much injury and oppression <m the Colonies, and especially on Massachusetts, should haire originated from one of her own prc^eny, for such was its au- thor, Sir George Downing, of whom President Adams speaks in the following manner.
^ But it is high time for me to return from thid ramble to Mr. Otis' quotations from Sir Josiah Child, whose chapter four, ps^e 105, is ^ concerning the act of navigation.'' Probably this knight was one of the most active and able inflamers of the na- tional pride ki their navy and their commerce, and one of the principal promoters of that enthusiasm for the act of navigation, which has prevailed to this day. For this work was written about the year 1677, near the period, when the court of Charles n. began to urge and insist on the strict execution of the act of navigation Such pride in that statute, did not become Charles, his court, or his nation of royalists and loyalists, at that time. For shall I blush, or shall I boast, when I remember, that this act was not the invention of a Briton, but of an American. George Downing, a native of New En- gland, educated at Harvard College, whose name, office, and title appear in^heir catalogue, went to England in the time of lord Clarendon's civil wars, and became such a favourite of Cromwell and the ruling powers, that he was sent ambassador to Hoi* land. He was not only not received, but ill trea- ted, which he resented on his return to England, by proposing an act of navigation, which was adopted, 11
76 LITE OF JABIES OTIS.
and has ruined Holland, and would have ruined America, if ghe had not resisted*
^ To borrow the language of the great Dr. Joluw son, this ^ Dog' Downing must have had a head and brains, or in other words, genius and address : but if we may believe history, he was a scoundrel. To in- gratiate himself with Charles II. he probably not only pleaded his merit in inventing the navigation act, but he betrayed to the block some of his old republican and revolutionary friends.
" But where is Downing's statute ? British policy has suppressed all the laws of England, from 1648 to 1660. The statute book contains not one line. Such are records and such is history.^'
From the navigation act the advocate passed to the Acts of Trade, and these, he contended, imposed taxes, enormous, burthensome, intolerable taxes ; and on this topic he gave full scope to his talent, for powerful declamation and invective, against the /y- ranny of taxation without representation.* From the
* " It happened,^ (says Burke in his speech on taxation) " you know. Sir, that the great contests for freedom in this country, were from the earliest timet chiefly upon the question of taxing. Most of the contests is the an- cient Commonwealths turned primarily on the right of election of magistrates ; or on the balance among the several orders of the state. The question of money was not with them so immediate. But in England it was otherwise. On this point of taxes, the ablest peas and roost eloquent tongues have been exercised ; the greatest spirits have acted and suffered. In order to give the fullest satisfaction concerning the u^portance of this point, it was not only necessary for those who in argument defended the excellence of the English constitution* to insist on this privilege of granting money as a dry point of fact, and to prove, that the right had been acknowledged in ancient parch- ments and blind usages, to reside in a certain body called a House of Com- mons. They went much further, they attempted to prove, and they sue-
LIFE OF JAMES OTIS. 77
•nergy with which he urged this position, that taxa- tion without representation is tyranny, it came tojj^ a common maxim in the mouth of every one. And with him it formed the basis of all his speeches and political writings ; he builds all his opposition to arbitrary measures from this foundation, and perpe- tually recurs to it through his whole career, as the great constitutional theme of liberty, and as the fun- damental principle of all opposition to arbitrary J power. ^-;
The first of these acts of trade on which he com- mented was the 15th of Charles II. ch. 7. in 1663, entitled ** An act for the encouragement of trade^ one short section from this act may be given as a type of them all, shewing in the most undisguised manner, the remorseless spirit of colonial monopoly. " Sec. 5. And in regard his majesty's plantations be- yond the seas are inhabited and peopled by his sub-
oeflded, that in tbtory it ought to be so, firom the particular nature of a House of Commons, as an immediate representative of the people ; whether the old records had delivered this oracle or not. They took infinite pains to inculcate as a fundamental principle, that in all monarchies, the people must in effect themselves, mediately, or immediately, possess the power of (ranting their own money, or no shadow of liberty could subsist. The colonies drew from you, as with their lifeblood, these ideas and principles. Their love of liberty, as with you, fixed and attached on this specific point of taxing. Liberty might be safe, or might be endangered in twenty other particulars, without their being much pleased or alarmed. Here they felt its pulse, and as they found that beat, they thought themselves sick or sound. I do not say whether they were right or wrong, in applying your general arguments to their own case. It is not easy indeed to make a monopoly of theorems and corollaries. The fact is, that they did thus apply those gene- ral arguments ; and your mode of governing them whether through wisdom •r mistake, confirmed them in the imagination, that they as well as you, had on interest in thate common principles."
7« LIFE OF JAM58 OTIS.
jects of this hia kingdom of Elngland, for the maio" tainiDg a greater oorrespondenoe and kindness be*- t)¥een them, and keeping them yet more beneficial and advantageous unto it, in the further employment and increase of English shipping and seamen, vent of English woollen and other manufactures and com- modities, rendering the navigation to and from the same, more cheap and safe, and making this king- dom a staple, not only of the commoditie of these plantations, but also of the commodities of other countries and places, for the supplying of them ; aod it being the usage of other nations to keep their plantations' trade to tbemselyes,'* — The statute then goes on to enact that nothing ahall be imported or exported from the Colonies, except from or to ^^ Ei>- gland, Wales, or the Town of Berwick upon Tweed," It may be imagmed from the ardent character of the speaker, what must have been the tone of his ob- servations on these ordinances. Mr. Adams says, that ^ some of them appeared to me at the time, youi^ as I was, bitter."
The main question constantly recurred, where is the authority for the writs of assistance ? After all the search that bad been made by all the members of the bar who had been employed on either side, the only instance where the words could be found, Hvas in a statute of the 13th and 14th of Charles tthe second, which was cited by Mr Gridley, and |vbich Otis denied to be either authority er prece- ; dent^ or to have the least colour of either, in Ameri- ca. « The statute was entitled, ** An act to prevent
LIFE OF JAMES OTIS. 79
fraude, and regulating abuses in his majesty^s cus* touts f and in the fifth section, which had reference to prohibited or uncustomed goods bei^g found on board of vessels after clearance, or in any jJace on shore, it is provided for the seizure of those goods, that, ^ it shall be lawful to ex* for, any person or persons, authorized by yorit ofassisianee under the setU of his fMgeetjfs Court ofEfduquerj to take a consta- ble, headbctrc^h, or other public c^icer, inhabiting near unto the flace, and in the day time to enter, and go into any house, shop, cellar, warehouse, or room, or other place; and in case of resistance, to break open doors, chests, trunks, and other pack- age, there to seize and from thence bring, any kind of goods or merchandize whatsoever prohibited and uncustomed, and to put and secure the same, in his majesty^s storehouse in the port next to the place where such seizure shall be made." Another act was cited in eonnexion with this, that was passed m the seventh and eight of William the third, chap. 23d ^ to regulate ^e plantation trade«"-^This statute expressly recited the act before mentioned (^ Charles 11. which it went to inforce, and that ^ like assich tance'* should be given to the officers aa in the act of Charles— the word aeeistanu here occurs for the second, and last time, in any statute.
But in the former of these acts, and in the latter, if the instruction can be allowed to authorize a writ of assistance, these writs were to be issued un-^ der the seal of the Court of Exchequer, and were returnable to it. Otis, after alluding to both these
80 LIFE OF JAMES OTIS.
acts, asked with triumphant confidence, ** where ir your seal of his majesty's Court of Exchequer, and, what has the Court of Exchequer to do here T^ They bad no warrant from the Exchequer in En- gland, and could not assume to hare any. It could not be pretended that the Superior Court of Judica- ture, court of assize and general goal delivery in the Massachusetts Bay, had all the powers of the Court of Exchequer in England and could issile warrants like that Court No custom house officer dared say it, or instruct his counsel to say it. This Court, it is true, was invested with all the power of the Court of King's bench, common pleas and exchequer in England ; but this power was given by a law of the provincial legislature, by virtue of the powers vested in it by the charter. Yet neither Hutchinson nor the other judges, dared say that this Court was his majesty^s court of exchequer, because the principle would have been fatal to parliamentary pretensions. Otis went still further than to deny the jurisdic- tion of the court of exchequer; its warrants and writs were never seen here, or if they were, would be only waste paper. Such a " writ of assistance'' he said, might become the reign of Charles* the se-
* Cbalmera in his Political Annals, relating the protection accorded by Charles to the followers of Gorton, against the tyrannical measures of tba Massachusetts government, remarks; *'What a contrast is there between the good natured, careless monarch of England, and the unfeeling and in- terested bigots of Massachusetts. When the failings of Charles U. are mentioned, it ought to be remembered, that during his reign, he exerted himself whh more than usual vigour in protecting his snbjects against the injustice and oppression of that government.'' Yet Chalmers, whose anti- pathy is very strong to the puritan forefathers of Massachusetts, when speak^
LIFE OF JAMES OTIS. 81
eoDd of Elngland, and he would not dispute the taste of the. parliament of England in passing such an act, nor the people of England in submitting to it ; but it was not calculated for the meridian of this coun- try. He insisted further, that these warrants and Writs were even in England inconsistent with the fundamental laws, the natural and constitutional
ing of their intoUraot conduct in another place, observes : << We think with less asperity of the persecutors of such men : and when we see them strug- gling with diieate and famine in the wilderness, we are too apt to give then less of our pity, than humanity would otherwise bestow. There is nothing more irregular than the human mind when governed by unnatural impulses. The general Court, while persecuting all who differed from it in opinion^ religious or political, ordained, « that all strangers professing the christian religion, who shall flee to this country, from the tyranny of their persecu- tors, shall be succoured at the public charge, till some provision can be made for them" and that body received with a benevolence that coveretb a multitude of faults, the Scots < whom the Lord had delivered into Crom- weirs hands at Dunbar,' and who were transported to Massachusetts te sulfer for their own credulity, and the folly of their rulers,"
The intolerance exercised by the government in the first ages of the Mas- sachusetts colony, is a sad initance of human weakness. Tet there are still more apologies for them than those mentioned by Chalmers. The sacriUces they made for conscience sake, and the dangers they exposed themselves to, serious enough in reality, but still magnified by imagination, could only be sustained by nourishing a solemn feeling of their being, Uke the Jews, a chosen people under the special protection of Providence. But the very belief in this divine protection, naturally made them think very harshly of those who dif- fered from them ; and these *< poor exiles to the utmost ends of the earth,** in the language of the Massachusetts Government to Cromwell ; *< these dear saints of God" as the deputies of the league in 1653 termed the inhabitants of Connecticut, exposed to the machinations of the Dutch and Indians at Man- hattan, thought errors of faith, the most heinous of all crimes, were destined to aflford a remarkable proof of the maxim, that the same spirit that will suffer martyrdom, will inflict it. As u Charles U. he was doubt- lets a much plesisanter companion than the puritan magistrates of Massa- chusetts, but it will be recollected, that << careless and good-natured" as he was, all his measures tended to the establishment of tyranny ; while the policy of the forefathers of New Eugland« stem and bigotted as they wera led eventually to the attainment of freedom.
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r^hts of the subjects. If, howerer, it Would pleased the people of Ei^land, he iii^ht admit that they were legal there, but not here.
The case of the petitioners was attempted to be made out, by a series of inferences and forced con* structions of the most sophistical kind ; whenever they could find the word ♦* wrif* or ** continued'^ or ** assistance" or the words •♦ court of exchequer,** they produced the statute, though it might be in ex- press terms, " restricted to the realm." There were several acts of this kind passed under the Stuart kii^ which were brought forward. Among these were, " an act for the regulation of the trade of Bay making, in the Dutch Hall in Colchester"^-*and an ^ act for the regulating the making of Kidderminster stuffi." There seems to hare been no other reason for citii^ these statutes thau their having contained permission ^to enter, search, break open houses, shops, cellars, rooms, casks, boxes," &c. &c .and to seise and carry away " certain obnoxious articles." These odious and violent enactments, which have at all times perhaps, been too readily passed in England, were yet limited to some particular manufacture, which they were designed to encourage. Many of them were brought from different reigns, in which the rights of the subject were treated with little ceremony, in favour of establishing particular manu- factures, and of destroying foreign rivalship, yet all these acts were confined to the realm, and their operation to very narrow limits within it. " The wit, the humour, the irony, the satire played ofi^ by
LIFE OP JAMES OTIS. 83
Mr. Otis, ID his observations oD these acts of navigft^ tion, Dutch Bays, and Kidderminster stuffi,'' ^it would be madness in me/' says Mr. Adams, ^ to pre* t0od to remember with any accuracy. But I do say, that Horace's IrriMj muket^ vm$ terroribus impht^ was n^yer exemf^ified in my hearing with so great effect." All the statutes were noticed from Charles II. tQ G^prge III. inelutiire, that the crown c^Scers thought $could be made to hear on the question. In the examination of these statutes, and especially of those caUed the aets oi trader he illustrated their spirit aod tendency, by many references to Child, Gee, Ashley, and Dareoant, whose works on Trade, and the Cplomes, were a commentary on these acts. He shew^ by many sound and striking observations, how imjuit, oppre$s«re and impracticaUe they were ; that they never bad been and never could be execur ted ; and asserted what must have then been consi^- f red ratber exjUravagant, though it was doubtless true, ^ timt ii the King of Great Britain in person were ^^cawped 09 Boston Common, at the head of twenty thousand man, with all hk navy 00 our coast, he would ivH he ahjl^ tP ex^ecute these laws. They would he resisted ior elvded." When he came to the copsid^fatlQQ, of ^ an aot for the better securi^ and eq^puragipg the tradfi oi his Majesty's sugar Colonies m Affieripa,'' paMed the 6th year of George II. which i«»pps#d a very heavy duty on foreign su* gar aod liEK^aapcs, and whida statute contabs the £ol lowing language ; ** we, your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons of Great Britain, 12
84 LIFE OF JAMES OTIS.
assembled in parliament, have given and granted unto your Majesty, the several and respective duties here- inafter mentioned,'' he laid down maxims which thenceforward became current enough. He demon- strated the importance of these two articles of molasses and sugar, the former of which, especially, was connected inseparably with the fisheries, with almost all the commerce of the colony, as well as its manufactures and agriculture, and he observed by calculation the great amount of revenue that would be raised by it He further advanced princi[des, that must have been heard by his audience with very strong, but rery different emotions, when ** he asserted this act to be a revenue law, a taxation law, made by a foreign legislature, without our consent, and by a legislature who had no feeling for us, and whose interest prompted them to tax us to the quick."*
The last ground taken by him m commenting on these later acts of trade, was their incompatibility with the charter of the Colony. He went over the history of the charters. ** Neither the first James nor Charles could be supposed to intend, that Parliament, which they both hated more than they did the Pope or the French king, should share with them in the government of colonies instituted by their royal pre- rogative." " Tom, Dick and Harry were not to cen- sure them in their council." Pym, Hampden, Sir Harry Vane and Cromwell, did not surely wish to
* President Adams' Letters.
LIFE OP JAMES OTIS. 8&
«ib}eGt a country, which they sought as an asylum, to the arbitrary jurisdiction of a country, from which they wished to fly. Charles the second had learned by dismal, doleful experience, that parliaments, were not to be wholly despised. He therefore endeavour* ed to associate parliament with himself^ in his nav^a» tion act, and many others of his despotic projects, even in that of destroying by his unlimited licentious- ness and debauchery, the moral character of the na- tion.^' In pointing out the violent infringement of the charters, from Dummer's defence of the New Ei^and charters, he bestowed many just praises on that excellent work**
In thus adverting to the history of the charters and the colony, he fell naturally on the merit of its founders, in undertakii^ so perilous, arduous, and ahnost desperate an enterprise ; in ^ disforesting bare
* This work entitkd **a deftnce of the New England Charters by Jer. Domnwr,* was written in ITSl^ and in point of style or argument, may vie with any American production before the Reyolution. Oummer was bom in Boston, in 1699^ and was the grandson of Richard Dummer, one of the fathers of Massachusetts. He was educated at Cambridge, and Dr. Mather, who was then President of the College, pronounced him one of tiie best scholars it had produced. He afterwards studied at Leyden, where Wiuius, professor of theology, spolte of liim in very high terms. He received a learned theological •daeatioo, but afterwards turned his attention to politics. He was appointed agent of Uie Plroyince in 1710, and to the disappointment of his countrymen and probably to his own injury eventually, he took the side of prerogative ; yet he held the place of agent eleven years, and was always steadily attached to his native home. He spoke several languages, and his talents and address gave him intimacy and influence in the highest circles. He was employed by Lord BoUngbroke in some important, secret negociations, and was promised high pmnotion, but the death o^ the Queen blasted all his hopes. His acquain- tance with Bolingbroke contributed to destroy his religious principles. He published four theological dissertations in Latin, the defence of the Charters, and a letter on the ezpeditioii to Canada io 171S. He died in England to May, 1799.
8i LITE OF JAMES OTIS.
creation ^""^ ta conciliatiog and necessarily contendii^ with Indian natives, in purohaBing, rather than con* querii^, a quarter of the glolij||& at their own ex* pense, by the sweat of their own brows, at the hass* ard and sacrifice of their own lives; without the Bmallest aid, assistance or comfort from the govern- ment of England, or from England itself as a nation. On the contrary, meeting with constant jealousy, envy, intrigue against their charter, their religion, tad all their privileges. He reproached the nation, parliament, and king with injustice, illiberality, in* gratitude, and oppression in their conduct towards this country, in a style of oratory that I never heard equalled in this or any other country.''
After the close of bis argument, the Court ad-^ joumed for consideration^ alid at the close of the term, Chief Justice Hutchinson pronounced the opHi>- ion : " The Court has considered the subject of writs of assistance, and can see no foundation for such a writ ; but as the practise in England is not known, it has been thought best to continue the question to the next term, that in the mean time opportunity may be given to know the rcsult,"t No cause in
* Dummer, in his defence of the New England charters, in describing the country, as the first colonists found it, says : *< The land itself was of a rough savage nature, incumbered with unprofitable woods, artd of no use till by vast labour and expence subdued and cultivated, for to speak the truth, those parts were but bare creation to the first planters, and their labour like the be- ginning of0ie tcorldj^
t When the next term came, Mr* Adams says, <<no judgment was pio- nounced, nothing was said about writs of assistaace. But it was generally reported and understood that the Court clandestinely granted them, and the custom house officers had them in their pockets, though I never knew that they dared to produce and execute them in any one instance." Minot'e bistorir
LtPK OF JAMES OTiS* B1
the ams^ of ccdonkt j^tuptttA^ticc bad bith^fto m- cited more public itiiert&t ; and AofM bad gty^ti rkd to sucb powerful argument When the profound learning of the advocate, the powers of wit, fancy and patbo9, with which he could copioaslj 3kistrate and adorn that learning, and the ardent character of his eloquence, are considered ; and that the disposi- tion to serve his clients, whoM cause he had under- taken to defend gratuitously, was not probably less- ened by the instant conviction that his family bad, with a view to this very cause, been ii^jiired by the appointment of the presiding ju^fe; and th^t his belief in the importance of the subject must have been certainly enforced by all the personal sacrifices he had made on this occasion, together with the obloquy and ill will of the people in power which would follow his course ; and, above all, a deep fore** sight of the meditated oppression and tyranny that would be gratified by the success of this hateful ap plication — when all these circumstances are recalled, the power and magnificence of this oration may be imagined. With a knowledge of the topics that were involved, and the fearless energy with which they were developed and elucidated, the time when it occurred, and the accompanying circumstances; every person will join with President Adams when be says: ^ t do say in the most solettm manner, that
Myft, ^ th« mt'ti 6f a8fti8tftiic« wa« ^Mntsd," mA thfett to Um <oitf t records nt aafhofil^ : Tfct this waf {ifobably A iMre Ami M Mve tt# prltfe of tlH ttt* oiinifltratioD ; and as nothing waa ofterwardt haard of thia odious instninaB^ President Adams' opinion u unquestlonaltly correcty << that they neVar dare^ to execute them."
W UFE OF JABfES OTIS.
Mr. Otis* oration agamst writs of assistance, breath- ed into this natimi the breath of life.**
RuuUi of the Cause of ^^ WriU of AiriiUtnee^^^Oiis cho$en inta Ae Legiilature — Anecdotes on that Subject — Thomas Cushing "^Chvemor BemartPs alhisioms to the late Trial
In addition to the deep anxiety, which such a question as that of ^ Writs of Assistance,^' involy* ing so extensively, not only pecuniary concerns, but political and civil rights, must inevitably have creat- ed ; this trial was also accompanied with a pecu- liar interest, arising out of incidental circumstances of a personal nature, some of which have been already mentioned There were others very strik- ing* Otis was the pupil of Gridley, for whose cha- racter he felt a high respect, and for whose instruc- tion he was sincerely grateful : and he never lost sight of these feelii^ in the course of the trial. ^ It was," says, the venerable witness so often quot- ed, ^ a moral spectacle more affecting to me than any I have ever since seen upon the stage, to ob- serve a pupil treating his master with all the defer- ence, respect, esteem and affection of a son to a father, and that without the least affectation ; while
LIFE OF JAMES OTld. 89
he baffled and cottfounded all hk authorities, confut- ed all his arguments, and reduced him to silence !" Nor was a suitable return wanting on the part of the master. The same observer in another place remarks; ^ The cro\yn, by its agents, accumulated construction upon construction, and inference upon inference, as the giants heaped Pelion upon Ossa. I hope it is not impious or profane to compare Otis to Ovid's Jupiter ; but, misso fidmine /regit Olyn^ jmm, ei excussit subjecto Pelto Ossam. He dashed this whole building to pieces, and scattered the pul- yerized atoms to the four winds; and no judge, lawyer, or crown officer dared to say, why do ye •of
^ In plain English, by cool, patient comparison of the phraseology of ihese statutes, their several provis- ions, the dates of their enactments, the privileges of our charters, the merits of the Colonists, &c. he shewed the pretentions to introduce the revenue acts, and these arbitrary and mechanical Writs of Assist- ance, as an mstrument for the execution of them, to be so irrational ; by his wit he represented the attempt as so ludicrous and ridiculous ; and by his dignified re- probation of an impudent attempt to impose on the people of America, he raised such a storm of in- dignati^MO, that even Hutchinson, who had been ap- pointed on purpose to sanction this writ, dared not utter a word in its favour, and Mr. Gridley himself seemed to me to exult inwardly at the glory and triumph of his pupil."
An epoch in public affairs may be dated from this
90 UPE OP JAMES OTIS.
trblt Political partiies became oiore distincUj form- ed and their seFcral adherents were more marked and decided* The nature of ultra-^marine jurisdic- tiop began to be closely examined; the queetion reepeeting raisiog a revenue fiiilj discussed. The right oC the British parliament to impose taxes was ppeniy denied ^Taxation without representation is tjramiy/^ was the maxim, that was the guide and wateh word pf all the friends of liberty. The cfown pSicer^ ^nA thmr followers adopted openly the pre^ tensions of the British ministry apd parliament, and Cpnsidering their power to be irresistiUe, appealed t^ tbe selfishness of those who might be expectants of patronage, and to the fears of all quiet and timr idg»ind9» Up adopt a blind submission, as the only safe or reasonable alternative. Otis took the side i^ }m country, and as has been shewn, under circum* stances that loade his decision irrevoeable. He was transferred at once from the ranks of pivate lile« upt merely to take the side, but to be the guide and leader of his country^ in opposiilioii to the de^ 8i|^ of the Bf itiah ministry. ^ Although'' says Presi- dent Adanifi, ^ Mr, Otis had never before interfered in public aJbins, his eiertions op this single ooea^ sion sectired him m commanding popularity with the fmn^ of their eountry, and the terror and vepk- geftOfie of her enemies ; neither of mkkk evor de» •ertedhim.''
His p^ptdarity was instantaneous, and universal ; and the public were impatient for the approaehing eleetion, when they codd make h^m a r^presenta-
LIFE OF JAMES OTIS. M
tive of Boston. Speaking one day on this subject, with a gentleman of great shrewdness and capacity, who was one of the delegation, a friendly conversa- tion took p^ce between them, in which the satire, if it bears a little hard on the character of those times, is perhaps not wholly inapplicable to most others. Otis observed, ** They talk of sending me to the liext General Court" — ^ You will never succeed in the General Court.'' — " Not succeed ! and why not pray ?' — ^ WKy, Mr. Otis, you have ten times the learning, and much greater abilities than I have, but you know nothing of human nature/' — '' Indeed ! I wish you would give me some lessons." — '^ Be pa- tient and I will do so with pleasure. In the first place what meeting do you go to?" — ^^Dr. Se wall's."* — •* Very well, you must stand up in sermon time, you must look devout and deeply attentive : Do you have family prayers ?" — ^ No*" — ^ It were well if you did: what does your family consist of?" — ^^Why only four or five commonly, but at this time, I hav« in addition one of Dr. Se wall's saints, who is a nurse of my wife." — ^ Ah ! that is the very thing : you must talk religion with her in a serious manner, you must have family prayers at least once while she is in your house : that woman can do you more harm of more good than any other person ; she will
* Dr. Joseph Sewall was pastor of the old South Church, ordained Sept. 16th, 1713. He was a strict calvinist, and eminent for his fervid piety, alms* giviog, and bis long and useful career. He preached for fifty-six years, and the last time on the evening thai he completed his eightieth year* He died soon after, June 27tii, 1769.
13
92 LIFE OP JAMES OTIS.
spread your fame throughput the copgregation. I can also tell you, by way of example, some of the steps I take : two or three weeks before an elec- tion comes on, I send to the cooper and get all my casks put in order : I say nothing about the num- ber of hoops. I send to the mason and have some job done to the hearths or the chimnies : i have the carpenter to make some repairs in the roof or the wood house : I often go down to the ship yards about eleven o'clock, when they break off to take their drink, and enter into conversation with them. They all vote for me."*
Mr. Otis was chosen almost unanimously a repre- sentative to the legislature, at the ensuing election in May 1761,t and on taking his fdace, being seated by the gentleman with whom he had held the pre- ceding conversation, the latter said to him : ^ Mn Otis you have great abilities, but are too warm, too impetuous, your opponents thoi^h they cannot
* At that period there were seven or eight shipyards in Boston, employing from twenty to seventy men each. AAer this gentleman who paid them these friendly visits, was chosen from the House into the Council, he omitted going to see them for a long time. On the next visit after this interval, one of them remarked to him in a significant way, <^ that since he had got into the Council, he did not come to see them so often." His answer with much good nature and knowledg0 of mankind, embraced all the slyness of tb* remark. << O yes, that was true, but my time is so much taken up ; and ihen you know, it is the House of Representatives, that chooses the CounciL*^
t " On that week," says President Adams, " I happened to be at Worces- ter attending a Court of Common Pleas, of which Brigadier Ruggles was Chief Justice. When the news arrived from Boston, you can have no idea of the consternation among the government people. Chief Justice Ruggles at dinner at Colonel Chandler's on that day, aaid, ' Out of this election will arise a damned laction, which will shake this province to its foundation." '
LIFE or JAMES OTIS. «3
meet you in argument, will get the adyantageby interrupting you, and putting you in a passion." — ** Well," saicl Otis, ** if you see me growing warm, gire me a hint, and Pll command myselfl" Sometime afterwards a question of some importance arose, Otis and his friend, being on the Boston seat togeth- er. The former, said he would speak, and the lat- ter cautioned him against being irritated. He soon rose, and was speaking with great fluency and in a powerful train of reasoning, when Brigadier Rug- gles interrupted him, he was growing warm in his reply, but his friend pulled his coat slightly: he scowled, looked round, took the hint, and mode- rated his tone. As he continued his argument, Mr. Choate of Ipswich, interrupted him again: this roused his temper, his coat was pulled a second time, when he turned round and said quickly in an under tone to his monitor ; ^ let nie alone, do you take me for a 6cho(J boy T^ and then continued his course with impetuosity, corruscating with sar- casms, and overwhelming his opponents with vehe- ment argument and invective*
His colleagues in representing the town that year, were Royd Tyler, John Phillips and Thomas Cushing, all of them men of great weight in so- ciety. Mr. Gushing however, next to Mr. Otis, be- came the most known from the part he took b public affairs.
The grandfather and father of Mr. Cushing were' both of them men of talents, and had both of them been distinguished in the stations they had filled
04 UFE OF JAMES OTIS.
in public life. His grandfather was long a mem- ber of the Council, and his father born in 1693 and educated at Cambridge, was chosen tjo various of- fices, the duties of which he discharged with ability. He was for several years Speaker of the House and held that office at his death in 1746, being then in his 53d year. He left a handsome estate to his son, and the reputation of a family which had long been engaged in the public service.
Thomas Cushing, was born in 1725, and his name stands on the Cambridge catalogue in the class of 1744. He engaged in political life, enjoying the general confidence of his fellow citizens, by an al- most hereditary right, and under many advantages. He was supposed to possess less talent than his father, but his qualifications were well adapted to the part he had to play. When Governor Bernard in 1763 negatived James Otis, the father, as Speaker, Mr. Cushing was chosen in his place, and was an- nually called to the chair for many succeedii^ years* His name therefore appears to all the public docu- ments, for a long period preceding the revolution. This gave him celebrity, and the reputation of taking the lead in affairs, to a much greater extent than he actually did. Dr. Johnson in his pamphlet ^' Tax- ation no tyranny," from the frequent occurrence of his name to public papers, was led to make this ab- surd remark ; ^ one object of the Americans is said to be, to adorn the brows of Mr, Cushing with a diadem."
Mr, Cushing was in fact ^ most useful ageiit ip
LIFE OF JAMES OTIS. 9S
public concerns, and perhaps more so, than if he had possessed very commanding abilities. He was de- cidedly patriotic in his principles, but extremely moderate and conciliatory in his conduct. He mixed with persons of different parties, and exhibited gi*eat urbanity in his intercourse with all classes. Though opposed to persons in the administration of the pro- vince, he was not personally obnoxious to them, so that in his office of Speaker, he stood between the popular party and the government, in a manner to prevent much inconvenient collision.
He was the friend and correspondent of Dr. Franklin, and received from him the famous letters of Hutchinson and others, that produced so stroi^ an effect at the time. The moderate counsels of Dr. Franklin were received by him with very con- genial feelings. He was steady in the course he adopted, possessing much prudence, little zeaK and no ambition of martyrdom, or desire for that species of pre-eminence, that insulates the possessor from all persons except his immediate partisans.
Mr. Cushii^ always took an active share in the concerns of the college at Cambridge, which con- ferred on him the degree of Doctor of Laws. He held various puUic offices, and died Lieutenant Go- vernor of Massachusetts in 1788, aged 63 years.
At the first session of the legislature in 1761, on the last Wednesday of May, Governor Bernard fully acquainted with the excitement that had been caused by the question about Writs of Assistance, after ad- vising the legislature, ^ to lay aside all divisions and
96 LIFE OF JAMES OTIS.
distkictioiis whatsoever, especiallj those, (if any there be) that are founded upon private views,'' proceeds to say : ^ Let me also recommend to you, to give no attention to declamations tending to promote a suspicion of the civil r^hts of the people beii^ in danger. Such harangues might well suit in the reigns of Charles and James, but in the times of the Georges they are groundless and unjust." The difference between these reigns, he then urges at some length, to shew the superiority of the present over the past. It is surprising, however, to find the Governor indulging in this ungrateful sneer at Charles and James, when certain acts of those sovereigns were the only precedents, that could be adduced to sustain the application for the writs of assistance, and their arbitrary edicts were to be made use of under a George, to revive an obsolete, odious instru- ment of tyranny. The legislature in their answer, were civil but firm. They knew nothing of any par- ties to which he alluded, and they assured him that ; ** Your Excellency's recommendations will al- ways have weight with us — Your recommendation, to give no attention to declamations tending to pro- mote suspicion of the civil rights of the people being in danger, shall have its weight. It is our intention to see for ourselves ; and it gives us pleasure to see that the civil rights of the people are not in danger ; nor are we in the least degree suspicious that they will ever be under your Excellency's administra- tion."
UFE OF JAMES OTIS. 97
efui]>trv 2^)HBE.
Question relating to the Ckirreney — Otis and Hvitkinson take diffe- rent stdee-^Exiracts from Otis'^s Essays — Letter from SewaU to Painej and Answer — Jonathan Sewall — Robert Treat Paine*
It was discovered in 1761, that many of the Trea- surer's notes then in circulation had been counter- feited, and a session of the Legislature was held in the autumn of that year, to devise a remedy for this evil. It was resolved to call them in and pay them off in part, and issue new paper for the balance. This course, which was wise enough in itself, brought into discussion the questions, in what coin they should be payable, whether in gold or silver, and at what rates ? According to the standard, is was more ad- vantageous to remit silver to England than gold, and in consequence the province had been nearly drain- ed of the former* The council, with Mr. Hutchin- son at their head, proposed to make gold a tender, and to lessen its value, so that it might be remit- ted, and thereby tend to keep the silver coin from being' exported. But the house maintained that gold was already a legal tender, that there was no neces- sity of lowering its current price, and that there would be great injustice in so doing. Each branch negatived the proposal of the other, and after a ses- sion of a fortnight, could agree upon nothing but to separate.
99 LIFE OF JAMES OTIS.
This subject, which in the relations of debtor or creditor, touches almost every individual in a com- munity, is one where alterations should be made with the greatest delicacy and prudence. On this occasion a great deal of discussion and waimth of feeling were produced. Its inherent difficulties were far from being diminished by a dispute as to the fact, wheth- er gold was a legal tender. After the legislature was prorogued, the dispute was transferred to the newspapers, and was there chiefly managed by Hutchiqson and Otis, who followed the opposite opi- nions which they had severally supported in the two branches of the legislature. Hutchinson argued in favour of enacting, that gold should be made a legal tender, at a diminished value. Otis contended against any diminution of the rate, and shewed that it was al- ready a tender by law. The discussion was chiefly carried on by these two gentlemen, under their own signatures ; one writer took the side of Hutchinson anonymously, who was supposed to be Mr. Bowdoih of the council, as he had maintained the same posi» tions in that body.
Otis gave proofs of great learning and powerful reasoning, mixed up with many sarcastic allusions to his opponent ; and Hutchinson avoided making a di- rect reply, but proceeded to give a curious history of the currency, and sought to mortify his antagonist by making no allusion to his pieces. Persons who are fond of considering these intricate questions of currency and its relative values, which still offer un- exhausted fields of dispute, will find a great deal of
LIFE OF JAMES OTIS. 99
learning and Ingenuity displayed in this controver- sy. The arguments and authorities produced by Otis, would occupy too much space here^ and it would be injurious to abridge them. The following ex- tracts from the articles he wrote, contain only some of the incidental topics, and are selected as character- istic of the times%
^MESBRS. EDB8 AND OlLt^
** Perhaps I should not hare troubled you or the Ipublic with any thoughts of mine, had not his Ho- nour the Lieutenant Governor condescended to give me a personal challenge. This is an honour that I never had vanity enough to aspire after, and I shall ever respect Mr. Hutchinson for it^ so long as I live, as he certainly consulted my reputation more than his own, when he bestowed it. A general officer in the army would be thought very condescending to accept, much more to give, a challenge to a sur baltern. The honour of entering the lists with a gentleman so much one^s superior in one view, is cer- tainly very tempting ; it is at least possible that his honour may lose much ; but from those who have and desire but little, but little can possibly be taken away. I am your humble servant.
JAMES OTIS, JR. BoiUm, Dec. I9th.
^HIs Honour is of opinion that gold and silver cai>- not both be kept here,without Messenii^ our imports' 4hat plenty of money has produced luxury, luxury 14
100 LIFE OF JAMES OTIS.
tends to poverty — ^ povertj to industry and frugality^ these bring money agaia' I am no i^erchant, but have been informed that increasing the exports is more advantageous to a country than lessening the imports. As to the revolution or wheel of fortune which his Honour has described, luxuiy is a very vague and loose term, if by it is meant, the impor- tation of many foreign commodities. The more we have the better, if we can export enough to pay for them ; poverty is so far from being the basis of indus- try and frugality, that it is too often the occasion of vices directly opposite. Poverty can no more pro- duce riches, than it can furnish a man with the se- cret of the philosophers stone. I know it is the maxim of some, that the common people in this town and country live too well ; however I am of quite a different opinion, I do not think they live half well enough. I should be glad to see here, as in England, tradesmen and yeomen worth their tens and their hundreds or thousands of pounds, for then, and not till then, we shall have gentlemen and merchants, worth their hundreds and their millions. The tradesman and the husbandman would do well to consider, that when they are for cramping trade, they are for kill- ing a faithful 8ervant,who is toiling night and day, and eating the bread of care for their good as well as his own; the merchant and the gentleman would do well to reflect that the hands of the tradesman, and husbandman, are their employers, and that unless they multiply and increase in their commodities and riches*^ the merchant will never flourish: tht mer'^
V LIFE OF JAMES OTIS. 101
chanty manufacturer^ and freeholder^ shcaild consider themselves as the most immediate and natural bro- thers in the communitj, that God and nature have made their interest inseparable, and when they will agree conjointly to pursue it, no mortal hand can ever prevail against them.
** Nature has been as kind to this Province, as to most id the world. This is demonstrable from its in- crease in people and trade, from its settlement to the year 1749, and yet we never raised our own bread. The balance yearly sent out in cash for wheat and flour, which we might raise as easily as the other colonies, has been often mentioned to our shame ; and yet nothir^ has been done to encourage the raising of one, or the manufacturing the other. It is said we pay two thousand pounds sterling a year, only for flour barrels. It is humbly submitted, whether it is not highly incumbent upon the government to take this affair into their consideration, and grant a boun- ty for raising wheat ; the saving between raising and paying the other colonies for our bread, would in two years furnish a sufficient medium for all our oth- . er trade.^
After a full discussion of the principal question, he concludes ; " Thus I have endeavoured, according to my poor capacity, to answer his Honour's reasons for lowering the pffce of gold, to prove the necessity of making gold expressly a tender, and have pointed out the only possible mode of keeping gold and sil- ver plenty amongst us. Every political writer is al- lowed to lament the decay of public spirit ; it is cer-
102 LIFE OF JAMES OTIS.
tain that in proportion to this decay, calamities of every kind will invade a community : and amidst all our disquisitions could we hit upon any method for reyiving this spirit among us, public embarrass- ments that appear incurable, would vanish before it. I am the humble servant of my country, and hearty well wisher to all men.
JAMES OTIS, JR.
P. S, Very soon after his Honour published his thoughts, he told me, he had ^ been cutting out work for me in the papers,'^ as near as I can recollect the words, which I took as a personal challenge to an- swer him ; if they were not so intended, I was mistak- en : however, read in the preface challenge to oti- swer : and those who think it can make any differ- ence in the sense, m&y for Cook^ the Cobbler, read all mankinds J, O,
Extract from the article in the Boston Gazette of January 11th, in the preface, to which he says that ^it is not an answer to his Honour's piece of the 4th ; that cannot come till he has finished, and then he may be unanswerable, my apology for this is, the extract from Mr. Locke, published the same day with my answer,
^ I shall not compare myself to either of those great men, Mr. Locke, or Mr. Lowndes. But with regard to the terms delicacy and politeness^ it may not be amiss to observe, that they are relative and admit of no invariable standards The present humour of a Court, the prevalei^t fashion of the age, and a thoq-i
LITE OP JAMES OTIS. 103
sand other accidents and circumstances cmnnir to ya* rj the idea annexed to those words. The delicacy and politeness of the Russian Court, would perhaps appear boorish in the present refinement at St James\ The British courtiers, at Versailles may be looked upon with as much pity and contempt, as the true plain-hearted old Briton would be by a modem politician. In the days of our forefathers, power put on the grim yisage of open force and yiolence. In this more delicate age, soft words, a smiling countenance, fair promises and other tickling blan- dishments, are the only -sure means of obtaining those enormous degrees of power, which mankind are so fond of: whateyer delicacy and politeness may dictate, good sense and good nature require that great allowance be made for the different ages, nations, education, adyantages and natural tempers of men. In one word, I am no courtier ; I know not how to giye flattering titles to men, nor haye I the least desire to offend them. If plain English and freedom of speech, are too hard for the di- gestion of any stomachs, those who labour under this infirmity haye a right to please their palates, and will of course seek elsewhere for entertainment"
^ Mr. Locke informs us, that Mr. Lowndes was DO otherwise known to him, than by his ciyilities," and adds, that he had ^ a yery great esteem for him," and so haye I for his Honour, tho' no part of my respect arises from ciyilities I haye receiyed, but purely from his Honour^s rank and merit Mr. Jjooke in his disputes, uses greater freedoms by fifty
104 LIFE OF JAMES OTIS.
times, than ever I desired to use with his Honour, uid it would be no difficult task, to point out some of them, in his controversy with his friend Lowndes* However this might not serve me, as it may be said, that greater freedoms are excusable between friends. The Bishop of Worcester was greatly Mr. Locke's superior in rank, tho' I must confess not so much as his Honour is mine in abilities. But it must be re- membered that no man carried the atmosphere of his commissiofi, or public character, into a disputation : if there was any rule of logic, in favour of that, the very name of a Justice of the quorum, would be as effectual to strike a poor plebian dumb, as the ulti- ma ratio regum of Lewis the XIV. Most men, had rather be silent all their days, than run the risque of beir^ thought worthy of hard names, bonds and stripes, for every word that may happen to displease the delicate ears of a superior.''
** I return my most humble, and hearty thanks, to his Honour, for his history of our currency, and should promise myself great entertainment, if he would gratify the public with a more general his- tory of the Province, his Honour's loi^ acquaintance with our ancient records, must have furnished him with many cui*ious anecdotes, unknown to most others.
** 1 entirely agree with his Honour, that our stand- ard of silver, has ever been the same with sterling. I could never see any necessity of altering the de- nomination, and have often wondered at such altera- tion taking place ; and am more fully convinced sine^
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his Honour's QpinioQ, that it was a very ill judged thing, tending only to confusion and disorder. It is a thousand pities, that so fair an opportunity as of* fered itself in 1749, for rectifying this error, should not have been embraced.^'
^^ His Honour observes, that in demooratical go- Ternments, generally, there will be a bias in the legislature^ to the number rather than to the weight of the inhabitants, it is presumed this may be true in speculation, but it cannot well be examined in practice : because strictly speaking, there never were many demoeratical governments in the world I do not at present recollect one such government existing upon the face of the earth. The English government is by some indeed considered as demo- eratical, others have not scrupled to call it an anarchy ; Sbut the best opinion is, that the true British consti- tution, as settled by the glorious revolution, is a mixed monarchy^ or a composite of three famous kinds, viz. of monarchy supplied by the king, arisiocrmcy supplied by the lords, and of democracy supplied by the com* ll monSb This^ when the checks and balances are pre- {served, is perhaps the most perfectform of government,
i;that in the present depraved state, human nature is capable ot It is a fundamental maxim in such a government, to keep the legislative and executive powers separate. When these powers are in the same hands, such a government is hastenii^ fast to its ruin, and the mischief and miseries that must hap- pen before that fatal period, will be as bad as those r felt in the most absolute monarchy .''
106 LIFE OP JAMES OTIS.
** It may happen to governments formed after thi0 model, that in consequence 6i art and corruption, half a dozen or half a score men will form an oli- garchy in favour of their families and friends. In- stances may be found, where a man of abilities shall monopolize a power proportionate to all those of lord chief baron of the exchequer, lord chief jus* tice of both benches, lord high treasurer, and lord high chancellor of Great Britain, united in one sin- gle person. There is no axiom in mathematics clearer, than that no man ought to be sole legisla- tor of his country, and supreme judge of his fellow citizens. Should it be objected that in making these political reflections, I have wandered; my apology is, I went out of the way for the sake of his Honour's company,* whose observation on the de- mocratical bias led me astray, if I have erred. By analogy it seems probable, that in an aristocratical government, the bias will be in favour of the weight, rather than the number of the inhabitants, but the more equitable way in all governments, is to set quantity against quality, and to keep as exact a ba- lance between debtor and creditor, as the nature of the thing will admit. If it is possible that his Honour should intend a distant, light, delicate suggestion, that I am in the least warped by either of these biasses, he is very much mistaken. I desire neither poverty nor riches, and thank God heartily that I have nei-
^ To feel all the pungency of this sarcasm, it should be recollected that Hutchinson had thus monopolixed offices.
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ther. Mediocritate mea corUenttis sum. Mj argu- ment in more respects than one, runs counter to what the wise of this world call interest This will not lie, and when a man speaks against it there is little reason to suspect his sincerity, however lightly we may think of his understanding. Restituit rem is a pompous motto, that I neyer expect to be com- plimented with, and I certainly will nerer assume it ; but this, non populi fasces nan purpura regum flexitj is what every man should take care to deserve, be- fore he pretends to any degree of philosophy or patriotism.^
He then proceeds to define the different kinds of government, and makes several extracts from Mon- tesquieu to shew the mischief which results from unitii^ legislative, executive, and judicial powers in the same person, for the purpose of severe allusion to HutchiDBon — and concludes with this paragraph.
" Oh ! Secondat ! thou wast surely inspired, or J2H could never have so exactly described the state of provinces, perhaps unpeopled, and of people un- born, when you first felt their miseries. Had France had many Montesquieus', Canada might never have been conquered* Should Great Britain play it away, when another Pitt appears, she may conquer it again.
JAMES OTIS."
The feeling of a community is easily excited on a topic that so unmediately involves the interest of 15
108 UFE OF JAMES OTIS.
every individual. As the legislature had separated without coming to any decision, the anxiety of the public was kept alive as to the result ; this discus- sion in the newspapers was therefore read with an avidity, that was not a little increased by the character of the principal writers. A curious ex- emplification of the general interest taken in this dispute, is afforded by the following letters, which were found among the papers of Governor Hutch- insoa They ' afford a proof also of his care in col- lecting whatever related to the opinions of men, on events of the times. They seem hastily and carelessly written, and yet were full of meaning* The first letter is from Mr. Sewall to Mr. R. T. Paine, ask- ing of the latter a little professional favour, while attending a county court The questions in the postscript, which forms the principal part of the let* ter, shew what were the prevailing topics of the day ; and the answer discovers a kind of shrewd cau- tion, as well as ready wit*
♦* BROTHER BOB.
Pray be kind enough to deliver the inclosed to Catch-pole — and whfen you can give me an oppor- tunity to cancel the obligation, please to command freely — Your hearty friend.
JONATHAN SEWALL. Charleit(ywn^ llth Feb. 1762,
" How is the harvest in your part of the vine- yard ? Which side do you take in the political con- troversies? What think you of coins? What of
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Writs of Assistance ? What of his Hon. the L. — G.— ? What of Otis? What of Thacher? What of Cooke the Cobbler? What of patriotism? What think jou of disappointed ambition? What thmk
you of the fable of the Bees ? What ^ send me
your thoughts on these questions, axA I'll send you fifty more.
TAUNTON, PEBk 17th, 1762. ^^ FRIEND JONATHAN.
** Have just received yours, and shall take special care of the inclosed. Your queries demand immedi- ate answers, in which I hope you will find a satis- factory display of the orthodoxy of my mind. — Que. 1. How is the harvest in your part of the vineyard ? Jlns. The old