Chapter II: Part 2

Next day (November 19), the consignees, in a petition to the governor and council, asked leave to resign themselves, and the property committed to their care, to his Excellency and their Honors, as guardians and protectors of the people, and that means might be devised for the landing and securing the teas, until the petitioners could safely dispose of them, or could receive directions from their constituents. Their action was the cause of much comment in the newspapers, and debate in the council. It was urged in opposition to the scheme, that it was no part of the legitimate functions of this body to act as trustees and storekeepers for certain factors of the East India Company.

In a letter to a friend, dated November 24, Hutchinson thus expresses his views of the situation. He says:

"When I saw the inhabitants of the town of Boston, assembled
under color of law, and heard of the open declaration that
we are now in a state of nature, and that we have a right to
take up arms; and when in a town meeting, as I am informed,
a call to arms was received with clapping and general
applause; when a tumultuous assembly of people can, from
time to time, attack the persons and the property of the
king's subjects; and when assemblies are tolerated from
night to night, in the public town hall; to counsel and
determine upon further unlawful measures, and dark proposals
and resolutions are made and agreed to there; when the
infection is industriously spreading and the neighboring
towns not only join their committees with the committee of
Boston, but are assembled in town meetings to approve of the
doings of the town of Boston; and, above all, when upon
repeated summoning of the Council, they put off any advice
to me from time to time, and I am obliged to consent to it,
because all the voices there, as far as they declare their
minds, I have reason to fear, would rather confirm than
discourage the people in their irregular proceedings,--under
all these circumstances, I think it time to deliberate
whether his majesty's service does not call me to retire to
the castle, where I may, with safety to my person, more
freely give my sense of the criminality of these proceedings
than whilst I am in the hands of the people, some of whom,
and those most active, don't scruple to declare their
designs against me."

And he concludes this doleful story with the question, "What am I in duty bound to do?" His position was certainly a very uncomfortable one.

Frequent conferences with the consignees were held by the selectmen of Boston. "Though we labored night and day in the affair, all our efforts could not produce an agreement between them and the town." So wrote John Scollay,[9] chairman of the Board of Selectmen, who also informs us, in a letter written December 23, that there was a way by which the consignees might have avoided trouble. "Had they," writes he, "on the terms of first application to them, offered to have stored the tea, subject to the inspection of a committee of gentlemen, till they could write their principals, and until that time (agreed that) no duty should be paid,--which no doubt the customs officers would have consented to,--I am persuaded the town would have closed with them."

The selectmen told the consignees plainly that nothing less than sending the tea back to England would satisfy the people. Some of their Tory friends also urged them to arrange matters in this way, but they would only agree (Nov. 27) that nothing should be done in a clandestine way; that the vessels should come up to the wharves, and that when they received the orders that accompanied the teas, they would hand in proposals to the selectmen, to be laid before the town. They meant only to gain time. They were determined to make the issue with the popular leaders on this question. They were backed by the governor and the influential Tories, and no doubt believed that they could carry their point.

On Monday, the 22d, the committees of correspondence of Dorchester, Brookline, Roxbury and Cambridge, met the Boston committee at the selectmen's chamber, Faneuil Hall.

They resolved unanimously to use their joint influence to prevent the landing and sale of the teas; prepared a letter to be sent to the other towns, representing that they were reduced to the dilemma, either to sit down in quiet, under this and every burden that might be put upon them, or to rise up in resistance, as became freemen; to impress the absolute necessity of making immediate and effectual opposition to the detestable measure, and soliciting their advice and co-operation. Charlestown was "so zealous in the cause," that its committee was added to the others. This body continued to hold daily conferences, "like a little senate," says Hutchinson.

The "Gazette" of November 22, said: "Americans! defeat this last effort of a most pernicious, expiring faction, and you may sit under your own vines and fig trees, and none shall, hereafter, dare to make you afraid."

On the 26th, the men of Cambridge assembled, and after adopting the Philadelphia resolves, "very unanimously" voted, "That as Boston was struggling for the liberties of their country, they could no longer stand idle spectators, but were ready, on the shortest notice, to join with it, and other towns, in any measure that might be thought proper, to deliver themselves and posterity from slavery."

1750-1822. Bond, April 3^d 1773. £1000.]

On Sunday, the 28th, the ship "Dartmouth," Captain Hall, owned by the Quaker, Francis Rotch,[10] arrived in Boston harbor, with one hundred and fourteen chests of tea, and anchored below the castle. As the news spread, there was great excitement. Despite the rigid New England observance of the Sabbath, the selectmen immediately met, and remained in session until nine o'clock in the evening, in the expectation of receiving the promised proposal of the consignees. These gentlemen were not to be found, and on the next day, bidding a final adieu to Boston, they took up their quarters at the castle.

Hutchinson advised the consignees to order the vessels, when they arrived, to anchor below the castle, that if it should appear unsafe to land the tea, they might go to sea again, and when the first ship arrived she anchored there accordingly, but when the master came up to town, Mr. Adams and others, a committee of the town, ordered him at his peril to bring the ship up to land the other goods, but to suffer no tea to be taken out.

The committee of correspondence, who also held a session that day, seeing that time was precious, and that the tea once entered it would be out of the power of the consignees to send it back, obtained the promise of the owner not to enter his ship till Tuesday, and authorized Samuel Adams to summon the committees and townspeople of the vicinity to a mass meeting, in Boston, on the next morning. The invitation read as follows:

"A part of the tea shipped by the East India Company is now
arrived in this harbor, and we look upon ourselves bound to
give you the earliest intimation of it, and we desire that
you favor us with your company at Faneuil Hall, at nine
o'clock to-morrow forenoon, there to give us your advice
what steps are to be immediately taken, in order effectually
to prevent the impending evil, and we request you to urge
your friends in the town, to which you belong, to be in
readiness to exert themselves in the most resolute manner,
to assist this town in its efforts for saving this oppressed
country."

The journals of Monday announced that the "Dartmouth" had anchored off Long Wharf, and that other ships with the poisonous herb might soon be here. They also contained a call for a public meeting, as announced in the following handbill, already printed and distributed throughout the town:

"Friends! Brethren! Countrymen! That worst of plagues, the
detested tea, shipped for this port by the East India
Company, is now arrived in this harbor; the hour of
destruction or manly opposition to the machinations of
tyranny stares you in the face; every friend to his country,
to himself, and posterity, is now called upon to meet at
Faneuil Hall, at nine o'clock this day, (at which time the
bells will ring,) to make a united and successful resistance
to this last, worst and most destructive measure of
administration.

Boston, November 29, 1773."

At nine o'clock the bells were rung, and the people, to the number of at least five thousand, thronged in and around Faneuil Hall. This edifice, then about half as large as now, was entirely inadequate to hold the concourse that had gathered there. Jonathan Williams,[11] a citizen of character and wealth, was chosen moderator. The selectmen were John Scollay, John Hancock, Timothy Newell, Thomas Newhall, Samuel Austin, Oliver Wendell,[12] and John Pitts. The patriotic and efficient town clerk, William Cooper,[13] was also present. Samuel Adams, Dr. Warren, Hancock, Dr. Young and Molineux took the lead in the debate. The resolution offered by Adams, "that the tea should not be landed; that it should be sent back in the same bottom to the place whence it came, at all events, and that no duty should be paid on it," was unanimously adopted. On hearing of this vote the consignees withdrew to Castle William. For the better accommodation of the people, the meeting then adjourned to the Old South Meeting House.

The speeches made at the Old South have not been preserved. Some were violent, others were calm, advising the people by all means to abstain from violence, but the men in whom they placed confidence were unanimous upon the question of sending back the tea. Dr. Young held that the only way to get rid of it was to throw it overboard. Here we find the first suggestion of its ultimate fate. Both Whigs and Tories united in the action of the meeting. To give the consignees time to make the expected proposals, the meeting adjourned till three o'clock.

Of this assembly Hutchinson says: "Although it consisted principally of the lower ranks of the people, and even journeymen tradesmen were brought to increase the number, and the rabble were not excluded, yet there were divers gentlemen of good fortune among them." With regard to the speeches he observes: "Nothing can be more inflammatory than those made on this occasion; Adams was never in greater glory." And of the consignees he says: "They apprehended they should be seized, and may be, tarred and feathered and carted,--an American torture,--in order to compel them to a compliance. The friends of old Mr. Clarke, whose constitution being hurt by the repeated attacks made upon him, retired into the country, pressed his sons and the other consignees to a full compliance."

A visitor from Rhode Island who attended the meeting, speaking of its regular and sensible conduct, said he should have thought himself rather in the British senate than in the promiscuous assembly of the people of a remote colony.

At the afternoon meeting in the Old South, it was resolved, upon the motion of Samuel Adams, "that the tea in Captain Hall's ship must go back in the same bottom." The owner and the captain were informed that the entry of the tea, or the landing of it, would be at their peril. The ship was ordered to be moored at Griffins' wharf, and a watch of twenty-five men was appointed for the security of vessel and cargo, with Captain Edward Proctor as captain that night. It was also voted that the governor's call on the justices to meet that afternoon, to suppress attempted riots, was a reflection on the people.

Upon Hancock's representation that the consignees desired further time to meet and consult, the meeting consented, "out of great tenderness to them," and adjourned until next day. This meeting also voted that six persons "who are used to horses be in readiness to give an alarm in the country towns, when necessary." They were William Rogers, Jeremiah Belknap, Stephen Hall, Nathaniel Cobbett, and Thomas Gooding, and Benjamin Wood, of Charlestown.

The guard for the tea ships, which consisted of from twenty-four to thirty-four men, was kept up until December 16. It was armed with muskets and bayonets, and proceeded with military regularity,--indeed it was composed in part of the military of the town,--and every half hour during the night regularly passed the word "all's well," like sentinels in a garrison. It was on duty nineteen days and twenty-three hours. If molested by day the bells of the town were to be rung, if at night they were to be tolled. We have the names of those comprising the watch on November 29 and 30. They are:

For November 29. Captain, EDWARD PROCTOR.

Henry Bass.
Foster Condy.
John Lovell.
John Winthrop.
John Greenleaf.
Benjamin Alley.
Joshua Pico.
James Henderson.
Josiah Wheeler.
Joseph Edwards.
Jonathan Stodder.
Stephen Bruce.
Paul Revere.
Moses Grant.
Joseph Lovering.
Dr. Elisha Story.
Thomas Chase.
Benjamin Edes.
Joseph Pierce, Jr.
Captain Riordan.
John Crane.
John McFadden.
Thomas Knox, Jr.
Robert Hitchborn.

November 30. Captain, EZEKIEL CHEEVER.[14]

Thomas Urann.
William Dickman.
Samuel Peck.
Thomas Bolley.
John Rice.
Joseph Froude.
Obadiah Curtis.
George Ray.
Benjamin Ingerson.
Adam Collson.
Daniel Hewes.
Joseph Eayres.
William Sutton.
Ebenezer Ayres.
William Elberson.
Benjamin Stevens.
James Brewer.
Rufus Bant.
William Clap.
Nicholas Pierce.
Thomas Tileston.
Richard Hunnewell.

Slain at the Battle of Bunker Hill _June 17 1775_

(_Copied from the Boston print of 1782, it being from the London print previous to this date._)

"May our land be a land of liberty, the seat of virtue, the asylum of the oppressed, a name, a praise in the whole earth."--JOSEPH WARREN.

March 5, 1772.]

Hancock and Henry Knox were members of this volunteer guard. Volunteers were, after the first night, requested to leave their names at the printing-office of Edes and Gill; the duty of providing it having devolved upon the committee of correspondence.

Obadiah Curtis, born in Roxbury, Mass., in 1724; died in
Newton, Mass., November 11, 1811. He was a wheelwright by
trade, and his wife, Martha, kept an English goods store, at
the corner of Rawson's Lane, (now Bromfield Street,) and
Newbury (now Washington) Street, and accumulated a handsome
estate. Becoming obnoxious to the British authorities, Mr.
Curtis removed with his family to Providence, remaining
there until after the evacuation of Boston. A person who saw
him at this time thus describes his appearance: "He was
habited according to the fashion of gentlemen of those
days,--in a three-cornered hat, a club wig, a long coat of
ample dimensions, that appeared to have been made with
reference to future growth, breeches with large buckles, and
shoes fastened in the same manner."

James Henderson was a painter, in Boston, at the beginning
of this century.

Daniel Hewes, a mason by trade, resided on Purchase Street,
where he died July 9, 1821; aged 77. He was a brother of
George Robert Twelves Hewes.

Robert Hitchborn was a cooper, on Anne Street, in 1789.

Thomas Knox, Jr., a branch pilot, died in Charlestown,
Mass., in April, 1817; aged 75. He joined the Masonic Lodge
of St. Andrew in 1764. In 1789 his residence was on Friend
Street.

Joseph Lovering was a tallow chandler. He lived on the
corner of Hollis and Tremont Streets, opposite Crane and the
Bradlees. Joseph Lovering, Jr., held the light by which
Crane and others disguised themselves in Crane's carpenter's
shop, on the evening of December 16. Lovering was a
prominent member of the Charitable Mechanic Association, was
many years a selectman and a fireward under the old town
government of Boston, and was also a member of the first
Board of Aldermen, under Mayor Phillips. He followed his
father's business, and was some years a partner in the firm
of J. Lovering & Sons.

Joshua Pico, a cooper, on Sheaffe Street, residing on Clarke
Street; died in January, 1807.

Joseph Pierce, Jr., was a merchant, at 58 Cornhill, in 1799.

Nicholas Pierce was a bricklayer, on Back (Salem) Street, in
1800.

John Rice was deputy-collector at Boston, 1789.

Benjamin Stevens was a tailor, at 33 Marlboro' Street, in
1789.

Jonathan Stodder was a member of St. Andrew's Lodge of
Freemasons, in 1779.

Thomas Tileston, born September 21, 1735, was a carpenter on
Purchase Street, in 1789. His father, Onesiphorous Tileston,
also a housewright and a man of wealth, was captain of the
Artillery Company in 1762.

John Winthrop resided in Cambridge Street, and died February
12, 1800; aged 53.

The power and influence of the Boston committee of correspondence, which played so important a part in the tea affair, can best be estimated by a glance at the list of names of its members. They were, Samuel Adams, James Otis, Joseph Warren, William Molineux, Dr. Benjamin Church, William Dennie, William and Joseph Greenleaf, Dr. Thomas Young, William Powell, Nathaniel Appleton, Oliver Wendell, Josiah Quincy, Jr., John Sweetser, Richard Boynton, John Bradford, William Mackay, Nathaniel Barber, Caleb Davis, Alexander Hill, and Robert Pierpont.

After the dissolution of the meeting of November 29, the committee met, and called on the committees from other towns to join them on all necessary occasions. Besides sending accounts of these events to all the towns, they also wrote to the committees of Rhode Island, New Hampshire, New York and Philadelphia, explaining their course, acting, as they said, "in the faith that harmony and concurrence in action uniformly and firmly maintained, must finally conduct them to the end of their wishes, namely, a full enjoyment of constitutional liberty." They received cheering replies and encouraging assurances from all quarters.

At the meeting next morning, a letter to John Scollay from the consignees, containing their long-delayed proposals, was read. They expressed sorrow that they could not return satisfactory answers to the two messages of the town, as it was utterly out of their power to send the teas back, but said they were willing to store them until they could communicate with their constituents, and receive their further orders respecting them. This letter irritated the meeting, and it declined to take action upon it.

Before taking final leave of these obstinate gentlemen, I make a few citations from the recently published volume of "The Diary and Letters of Thomas Hutchinson." Writing to his son at the castle on November 30, Hutchinson says: "The gentlemen (consignees), except your uncle Clarke, all went to the castle yesterday. I hope they will not comply with such a monstrous demand." Hancock and Adams, he says, were two of the guard of the tea ship.

Thomas Hutchinson, Jr., to his brother Elisha:

"CASTLE WILLIAM, December 14, 1773.

... I imagine you are anxious to know what the poor banished
commissioners are doing at the castle. Our retreat here was
sudden, but our enemies do not say we came too soon. How
long we shall be imprisoned 'tis impossible to say.... I
hear there is a meeting of the _mobility_ to day, but don't
know the result. I hardly think they will attempt sending
the tea back, but am more sure it will not go many leagues.
The commissioners are all with us, and we are as comfortable
as we can be in a very cold place, driven from our families
and business, with the months of January and February just
at hand.

P.S.--Our situation is rendered more agreeable by the polite
reception we met with from Col. Leslie, and the other
gentlemen of the army."

And on January 9, 1774, he writes:

"The Bostonians say we shall not return to town without
making concessions. I suppose we shall quit the castle
sometime this week, as we are all provided with retreats in
the country. I have had a disagreeable six weeks of it, but
am in hopes the issue will be well."

And again, on January 21, dated Milton:

"I wrote you some time ago I was in hopes our harassment was
drawing to a close, and that we should leave the castle last
week. Mr. Faneuil and myself coming off caused a supposition
that we intended for Boston, which was the cause of
Saturday's notification which I sent you.[15] Mr. Faneuil is
since returned to the castle, and I am really more confined
than if I was there, as I keep pretty close to my home. Mr.
Jonathan Clarke sails in a few days for England, of which I
am very glad, as it may prevent misapprehension of our
conduct on that side of the water.

A proclamation from the governor was brought in to the meeting by Sheriff Greenleaf, which he begged leave of the moderator to read. Objection was made, but at the suggestion of Samuel Adams the meeting consented to hear it. The governor charged that the meeting of the previous day "openly violated, defied and set at naught the good and wholesome laws of the Province, and as great numbers were again assembled for like purposes, I warn," he said, "exhort and require you, and each of you, thus unlawfully assembled, forthwith to disperse, and to surcease all further unlawful proceedings at your peril." The reading was received with general and continued hisses, and a vote that the meeting would not disperse. Mr. Copley, the son-in-law of Mr. Clarke, inquired whether the meeting would hear the Messrs. Clarke, and whether they would be safe while coming to and returning from the meeting, and whether two hours would be allowed him in which to consult with them. The request of Copley, who was sincerely desirous of effecting a peaceful solution of the difficulty, was granted, and the meeting then adjourned until two o'clock.

The proceedings of this afternoon briefly stated were, the promise of Rotch, the owner, and Hall, the captain of the "Dartmouth," and the owners of the two other vessels expected with teas, that that article should not be landed, but should go back in the same ships, and the apology of Mr. Copley for the time he had taken, he having been obliged to go to the castle, where the consignees decided that it would be inexpedient for them to attend the meeting, but added to their former proposal that the tea should be submitted to the inspection of a committee, and also saying that as they had not been active in introducing the tea, they should do nothing to obstruct the people in returning it.

This was voted unsatisfactory. Resolves were then passed to the effect that all who imported tea were enemies to the country; that its landing and sale should be prevented, and that the tea should be returned to the place whence it came. And the meeting also voted to send these resolves to every seaport in the colonies and to England. The committee of correspondence was charged to make provision for the continuation of the watch, and "the brethren from the country" were thanked for their "countenance and union," and desired to afford their assistance on notice being given, and it was also declared to be "the determination of this body to carry their votes and resolves into execution at the risk of life and property."

Speaking of this meeting, Hutchinson says: "A more determined spirit was conspicuous in this body than in any of the former assemblies of the people. It was composed of the lowest as well, and probably in as great proportion, as of the superior ranks and orders, and all had an equal voice. No eccentric or irregular motions were suffered to take place. All seemed to have been the plan of a few, it may be of a single person."

And in a private letter, dated December 1, Hutchinson writes:

"While the rabble was together in one place, I was in
another, not far distant, with his majesty's council, urging
them to join with me in some measure to break up this
unlawful assembly, but to no purpose. I hope the consignees
will continue firm, and should not have the least doubt of
it if it was not for the solicitation of the friends of Mr.
Clarke. If they go the lengths they threaten, I shall be
obliged to retire to the castle, as I cannot otherwise make
any exertions in support of the king's authority."

The committee of correspondence omitted no step that prudence or caution could suggest to carry out the determination of the town. A letter from Philadelphia, just then received, said: "Our tea consignees have all resigned, and you need not fear, the tea will not be landed here nor at New York. All that we fear is that you will shrink at Boston. May God give you virtue enough to save the liberties of your country!"

A second and a third vessel soon arrived, and the selectmen gave peremptory orders, to prevent clandestine landing of the tea, and directed them to be anchored by the side of the "Dartmouth," at Griffin's Wharf. One guard answered for the three vessels. As the time drew near for the landing or return of the tea, the excitement of the community increased. "Where the present disorder will end," wrote Hutchinson, "I cannot make a probable conjecture; the town is as furious as in the time of the stamp act." "The flame is kindled," so wrote the wife of John Adams, "and like lightning, it catches from soul to soul.... My heart beats at every whistle I hear, and I dare not express half my fears."

Twenty days after her arrival in the port, a vessel was liable to seizure for the non-payment of duties on articles imported in her, nor on landing a portion of her cargo, could she be legally cleared. On official advice from the governor to Colonel Leslie, commander of the castle, and Admiral Montagu, the latter ordered the ships of war, "Active" and "King Fisher," to guard the passages to the sea, and permit no unauthorized vessels to pass. "The patriots," said Hutchinson, "now found themselves in a web of inextricable difficulties." "But where there is a will there is a way," and the patriots had more resources than the governor dreamed of.

Rotch, the owner of the "Dartmouth," was summoned before the committee (December 11), and was asked by Samuel Adams, the chairman, why he had not kept his pledge, to send his vessel and tea back to London. He replied that it was out of his power to do so. He was advised to apply for a clearance and a pass. "The ship must go," said Adams, "the people of Boston and the neighboring towns absolutely require and expect it."

The journals of the day are filled with items concerning the tea question. Little else was now thought of. They contained the resolves of the Massachusetts towns, encouraging Boston to stand firm, and assuring her of their support, and accounts from Philadelphia and New York of the determination to nullify the tea act, and of the declination of the consignees in the latter place.

The "Gazette," of December 13, editorially says: "The minds of the public are greatly irritated at the delay of Mr. Rotch, to take the necessary steps towards complying with their peremptory requisition." On this day an important session of the committee of the five towns already named took place at Faneuil Hall. "No business transacted matter of record," is the brief but suggestive entry as to its doings.

Dorchester, in legal town meeting, declared that, "should this country be so unhappy as to see a day of trial for the recovery of its rights by a last and solemn appeal to Him who gave them, they should not be behind the bravest of our patriotic brethren." Marblehead affirmed that the proceedings of the brave citizens of Boston, and of other towns, in opposition to the landing of the tea, were rational, generous and just; that they were highly honored for their noble firmness in support of American liberty, and that the men of the town were ready with their lives to assist their brethren in opposing all measures tending to enslave the country." Under date of December 3, the people of Roxbury voted that they were in duty bound to join with Boston, and other sister towns, to preserve inviolate the liberties handed down by their ancestors. Next day the men of Charlestown declared themselves ready to risk their lives and fortunes. Newburyport, Malden, Lexington, Leicester, Fitchburg, Gloucester, and other towns, also proferred their aid when needed.

The "Gazette," under date of Salem, December 7, has the following: "By what we can learn from private intelligence, as well as the public proceedings of a number of principal towns contiguous to the capital, the people, if opposed in their proceedings with respect to the tea, are determined upon hazarding a brush, therefore those who are willing to bear a part in it in preserving the rights of this country, would do well to get suitably prepared." This looked like business.

On the morning of December 14, the following handbill appeared in Boston:

Friends! Brethren! Countrymen! The perfidious act of your
reckless enemies to render ineffectual the late resolves of
the body of the people, demands your assembling at the Old
South Meeting House, precisely at ten o'clock this day, at
which time the bells will ring."

The meeting thus called was largely attended. Samuel Phillips Savage,[16] of Weston, was chosen moderator. Bruce, the master of the "Eleanor," promised to ask for a clearance for London, when all his goods were landed, except the tea, but said that, if refused, "he was loth to stand the shot of thirty-two pounders." Rotch, accompanied by Samuel Adams, Benjamin Kent, and eight others, applied to the collector of the port for a clearance, and reported, on his return, that the collector desired to consult with the comptroller, and promised an answer on the following morning. The meeting then adjourned until Thursday.

Next day Rotch, with the Committee, proceeded to the Custom House. Harrison, the Collector, and Comptroller Hallowell, were both present. The owner said that he was required and compelled at his peril by the meeting to make the demand for the clearance of his vessel for London, with the tea on board, and one of the committee stated that they were present only as witnesses. The Collector unequivocally and finally refused to grant his ship a clearance until it should be discharged of the teas. The result was reported to the meeting on the following morning.

* * * * *

The eventful Thursday, December 16, 1773, a day ever memorable in the annals of the town, witnessed the largest gathering yet seen at the Old South Meeting House. Nearly seven thousand persons constituted the assembly. Business was laid aside, and notwithstanding the rain, at least two thousand people flocked in from the country for twenty miles around. This time there was no need of handbills--there were none. No effort was required to bring together the multitude that quietly but anxiously awaited the outcome of the meeting. The gravity of the situation was universally felt. Immediate action was necessary, as the twenty days allowed for clearance terminated that night. Then the revenue officials could take possession, and under cover of the naval force land the tea, and opposition to this would have caused bloody work. The patriots would gladly have avoided the issue, but it was forced upon them, and they could not recede with honor.

The committee having reported the failure of its application for a clearance, Rotch was directed to enter a protest at the Custom House, and to apply to the governor for a pass to proceed on this day with his vessel on his voyage for London. He replied that it was impracticable to comply with this requirement. He was then reminded of his promise, and on being asked if he would now direct the "Dartmouth" to sail, replied that he would not. The meeting, after directing him to use all possible dispatch in making his protest and procuring his pass, adjourned until three o'clock.

At the afternoon meeting, information was given that several towns had agreed not to use tea. A vote was taken to the effect that its use was improper and pernicious, and that it would be well for all the towns to appoint committees of inspection "to prevent this accursed tea" from coming among them. "Shall we abide by our former resolution with respect to the not suffering the tea to be landed?" was now the question. Samuel Adams, Dr. Thomas Young and Josiah Quincy, Jr.,[17] an ardent young patriot devotedly attached to the liberties of his country, were the principal speakers. Only a fragment of the speech of Quincy remains. Counselling moderation, and in a spirit of prophecy, he said:

"It is not, Mr. Moderator, the spirit that vapors within
these walls that must stand us in stead. The exertions of
this day will call forth the events which will make a very
different spirit necessary for our salvation. Whoever
supposes that shouts and hosannas will terminate the trials
of the day, entertains a childish fancy. We must be grossly
ignorant of the importance and value of the prize for which
we contend; we must be equally ignorant of the power of
those who have combined against us; we must be blind to that
malice, inveteracy and insatiable revenge which actuates our
enemies, public and private, abroad and in our bosom, to
hope that we shall end this controversy without the
sharpest, the sharpest conflicts; to flatter ourselves that
popular resolves, popular harangues, popular acclamations,
and popular vapor will vanquish our foes. Let us consider
the issue. Let us look to the end. Let us weigh and
consider before we advance to those measures which must
bring on the most trying and terrific struggle this country
ever saw."

But the time for weighing and considering the business in hand had passed. Time pressed and decisive action alone remained. "Now that the hand is at the plough," it was said, "there must be no looking back."

At half-past four it was unanimously voted that the tea should not be landed. An effort was now made to dissolve the meeting, but it was continued at the request of some of those present from the country, who wished to hear the result of Rotch's application to the governor.

It was an unusual time of the year to be at a country seat, but Governor Hutchinson was found at his Milton residence by Rotch, who renewed his request for a pass. Questioned by the governor as to the intentions of the people, Rotch replied that they only intended to force the tea back to England, but that there might be some who desired that the vessel might go down the harbor and be brought to by a shot from the castle, that it might be said that the people had done everything in their power to send the tea back. "Catching at this straw, with the instinct of a drowning man," Hutchinson offered Rotch a letter to Admiral Montagu, commending ship and goods to his protection, if Rotch would agree to have his ship haul out into the stream, but he replied that none were willing to assist him in doing this, and that the attempt would subject him to the ill will of the people. Hutchinson then sternly repeated his refusal of a pass,[18] as it would have been "a direct countenancing and encouraging the violation of the acts of trade." Thus closed the last opportunity for concession.

"Who knows how tea will mingle with salt water?"--JOHN ROWE. _Old South Church, Boston, Dec. 16, 1773._]

It is only fair to say that the performance of what he honestly believed to be his duty was as vital a consideration with Thomas Hutchinson, the royal governor, as opposition to measures which he believed to be hostile to the liberties of his country was to Samuel Adams, the popular leader. We can at this day well afford to mete out this tardy justice to a man whose motives and conduct have been so bitterly and unscrupulously vilified and maligned as have been those of Thomas Hutchinson.

When Rotch returned and told the result of his application, it was nearly six o'clock. Darkness had set in, and the Old South, dimly lighted with candles, was still filled with an anxious and impatient multitude. "Who knows," said John Rowe,[19] "how tea will mingle with salt water?" The people hurrahed vehemently, and the cry arose, "A mob! a mob!" A call to order restored quiet. Dr. Young then addressed the meeting, saying that Rotch was a good man, who had done all in his power to gratify the people, and charged them to do no hurt to his person or property.

To the final question then put to him, whether he would send his vessel back with the tea in her, under the present circumstances, he replied, that he could not, as he "apprehended that a compliance would prove his ruin." He also admitted that if called upon by the proper persons, he should attempt to land the tea for his own security.

Adams then arose and uttered the fateful words, "This meeting can do nothing more to save the country." This was doubtless the preconcerted signal for action, and it was answered by the men who sounded the war-whoop at the church door. The cry was re-echoed from the gallery, where a voice cried out, "Boston harbor a tea-pot to-night; hurrah for Griffin's wharf!" and the "Mohawks" passed on to cut the Gordian knot with their hatchets.

Silence was again commanded, when the people, after "manifesting a most exemplary patience and caution in the methods they had pursued to preserve the property of the East India Company, and to return it safe and untouched to its owners," perceiving that at every step they had been thwarted by the consignees and their coadjutors, then dissolved the meeting, giving three cheers as they dispersed.

Meanwhile a number of persons, variously estimated at from twenty to eighty, (their number increasing as they advanced,) some of them disguised as Indians, and armed with hatchets or axes, hurried to Griffin's (now Liverpool) wharf, boarded the ships, and, warning their crews and the customs officers to keep out of the way, in less than three hours time had broken and emptied into the dock three hundred and forty-two chests of tea, valued at £18,000. The deed was not that of a lawless mob, but the deliberate and well-considered act of intelligent, as well as determined, men. So careful were they not to destroy or injure private property, that they even replaced a padlock they had broken. There was no noise nor confusion. They worked so quietly and systematically that those on shore could distinctly hear the strokes of the hatchets. As soon as the people learned what was going forward, they made their way to the scene of operations, covering the wharves in the vicinity, whence they looked on in silence during the performance. The night was clear, the moon shone brilliantly, no one was harmed, and the town was never more quiet. Next day, the Dorchester shore was lined with tea, carried thither by the wind and tide. The serious spirit in which this deed was regarded by the leaders, is illustrated by the act of one who, after assisting his apprentice to disguise himself, dropped upon his knees and prayed fervently for his safety, and the success of the enterprise.

Among the spectators of the scene were Dr. John Prince, of Salem; John Andrews, and Dr. Hugh Williamson, who afterwards underwent an examination respecting the affair before the British House of Commons.

Where is now the wide Atlantic Avenue, the old footpath under Fort Hill, known as Flounder Lane, and afterwards as Broad Street, wound around the margin of the water. Sea Street was its continuation to Wheeler's Point (the foot of Summer Street). Opposite where Hutchinson (now Pearl) Street entered Flounder Lane, was Griffin's Wharf. The laying out of Broad Street and Atlantic Avenue, and the consequent widening and filling in, have resulted in obliterating Griffin's Wharf, although in Liverpool wharf it has a legitimate successor. The old dock logs were found near the centre of the avenue. The coal office of the Messrs. Chapin now occupies the site rendered memorable by the exploit of the Boston tea party.

* * * * *

The destruction of the tea is said to have been planned in the "Long Room," over Edes & Gills' printing-office, on the easterly corner of Franklin Avenue and Court Street, where the "Daily Advertiser" building recently stood. In their back office some of the party it is said were disguised.

Among the members of the "Long Room Club," as those who usually met here were styled, were Samuel Adams, Hancock, Warren, Otis, Church, Samuel Dexter, Dr. Samuel Cooper, and his brother, William Cooper, Thomas Dawes, Samuel Phillips Savage, Royal Tyler, Paul Revere, Thomas Fleet, John Winthrop, William Molineux, and Thomas Melvill.

A similar claim is also made for the "Green Dragon" tavern, then known as the "Freemasons' Arms," which stood near the northerly corner of Union and Hanover Streets, where the Masonic Lodge of St. Andrew held its meetings. The honor belongs equally to both. In both, the consultations of the popular leaders were undoubtedly held and their plans laid. Prominent members of this Lodge, who were also active "Sons of Liberty," and members of the tea party were, Paul Revere, Edward Proctor, Thomas Chase, Adam Collson, Samuel Peck and Thomas Urann. Its later members, also identified with the tea party, were Samuel Gore, Daniel Ingersoll, Henry Purkitt, Amos Lincoln, James Swan, Robert Davis, Abraham Hunt, Eliphalet Newell and Nathaniel Willis. Other prominent Free Masons active in the tea affair were Dr. Warren and John Rowe. The tradition of the Lodge is, that the preliminaries of the affair were arranged here, and that the execution of them was committed mainly to the North End Caucus, with the co-operation of the more daring of the "Sons of Liberty." The committee of safety also met here. The record book of the lodge, under date of November 30, 1773, says:

"Lodge met and adjourned. N.B.--The consignees of the tea
took the brethren's time."

And on the eventful 16th of December:

"The Lodge met and closed on account of the few members in
attendance. Adjourned until to-morrow evening."

Three different parties, one or two of whom were disguised, had been prepared beforehand for this event, by the leaders. Certain it is that there were several squads in different parts of the town, who disguised themselves at their own or their neighbors' houses, and who then rendezvoused at points previously designated, before going to the wharf. Quite an Indian village was improvised at the junction of Hollis and Tremont Streets. John Crane, Joseph Lovering, and the Bradlees occupied opposite corners of this locality, the house and carpenter shop of Crane adjoining the residence of the famous Dr. Mather Byles. Captain Thomas Bolter and Samuel Fenno, also of the tea party, were near neighbors of Crane, and like him, were carpenters. Joseph Lovering, Jr., related that he held the light for Crane and some of his neighbors, to disguise themselves, in Crane's shop. The four brothers Bradlee, and a brother-in-law, were prepared for the occasion at their house opposite.

* * * * *

Perhaps the best contemporaneous account of the affair is the following, from the "Massachusetts Gazette," of December 23:

"Just before the dissolution of the meeting," says the
'Gazette,' a number of brave and resolute men, dressed in
the Indian manner, approached near the door of the assembly,
and gave a war-whoop, which rang through the house, and was
answered by some in the galleries, but silence was
commanded, and a peaceable deportment enjoined until the
dissolution. The Indians, as they were then called, repaired
to the wharf, where the ships lay that had the tea on board,
and were followed by hundreds of people, to see the event of
the transactions of those who made so grotesque an
appearance. The Indians immediately repaired on board
Captain Hall's ship, where they hoisted out the chests of
tea, and when on deck stove them and emptied the tea
overboard. Having cleared this ship, they proceeded to
Captain Bruce's, and then to Captain Coffin's brig. They
applied themselves so dexterously to the destruction of this
commodity, that in the space of three hours they broke up
three hundred and forty-two chests, which was the whole
number in these vessels, and discharged their contents into
the dock. When the tide rose it floated the broken chests
and the tea insomuch that the surface of the water was
filled therewith a considerable way from the south part of
the town to Dorchester Neck, and lodged on the shores. There
was the greatest care taken to prevent the tea from being
purloined by the populace; one or two being detected in
endeavoring to pocket a small quantity were stripped of
their acquisitions and very roughly handled. It is worthy of
remark that although a considerable quantity of goods were
still remaining on board the vessel, no injury was
sustained. Such attention to private property was observed,
that a small padlock belonging to the captain of one of the
ships being broke, another was procured and sent to him. The
town was very quiet during the whole evening and the night
following. Those who were from the country went home with a
merry heart, and the next day joy appeared in almost every
countenance, some on account of the destruction of the tea,
others on account of the quietness with which it was
effected. One of the Monday's papers says the masters and
owners are well pleased that their ships are thus cleared."

Another Boston paper says:

"The people repaired to Griffin's wharf, where the tea
vessels lay, proceeded to fix tackles and hoist the tea upon
deck, cut the chests to pieces, and throw the tea over the
side.... They began upon the two ships first, as they had
nothing on board but the tea, then proceeded to the brig,
which had hauled to the wharf but the day before, and had
but a small part of her cargo out. The captain of the brig
begged they would not begin with his vessel, as the tea was
covered with goods belonging to different merchants in the
town. They told him 'the tea they wanted, and the tea they
would have, but if he would go into his cabin quietly, not
one article of his goods should be hurt.' They immediately
proceeded to remove the goods, and then to dispose of the
tea."

From the "Evening Post" of Monday, December 20, 1773:

"Previous to the dissolution, a number of persons, supposed
to be the aboriginal natives, from their complexion,
approaching the door of the assembly, gave the war-whoop,
which was answered by a few in the galleries of the house,
where the crowded assembly was convened. Silence was
commanded, and prudent and peaceable deportment again
enjoined. The savages repaired to the ships which contained
the pestilential tea, and had begun their ravages previous
to the dissolution of the meeting."

Extract from the log-book of the "Dartmouth:"

"Thursday, December 16. This twenty-four hours rainy
weather, terminating this day. Between six and seven o'clock
this evening, came down to the wharf a body of about one
thousand people, among them were a number dressed and
whooping like Indians. They came on board the ship, and
after warning myself and the custom-house officers to get
out of the way, they undid the hatches and went down the
hold, where was eighty whole, and thirty-four half chests,
of tea, which they hoisted upon deck, and cut the chests to
pieces, and hove the tea all overboard, where it was damaged
and lost."

* * * * *

John Andrews, an eye-witness, in a letter to a friend relates particulars not elsewhere mentioned. While drinking tea at his house he heard "prodigious shouts," and went to the Old South Meeting House to ascertain the cause:

"The house was so crowded," he says, "that I could get no
further than the porch, when I found the moderator was just
declaring the meeting to be dissolved, which caused another
general shout out-doors and in, and three cheers. What with
that and the consequent noise of breaking up the meeting,
you'd thought the inhabitants of the infernal regions had
broke loose. For my part, I went contentedly home and
finished my tea, but was soon informed what was going
forward. Not crediting it without ocular demonstration, I
went and was satisfied. They mustered, I'm told, upon Fort
Hill, to the number of about two hundred, and proceeded, two
by two, to Griffin's wharf, where Hall, Bruce and Coffin
lay.... The latter arrived at the wharf only the day before,
and was freighted with a large quantity of other goods,
which they took the greatest care not to injure in the
least, and before nine o'clock in the evening every chest on
board the three vessels was knocked to pieces and flung over
the sides. They say the actors were Indians from
Narragansett; whether they were or not, to a transient
observer they appeared as such, being clothed in blankets,
with their heads muffled, and copper-colored countenances,
being each armed with a hatchet or axe, or pair of pistols,
nor was their dialect different from what I conceive these
geniuses to speak, as their jargon was unintelligible to all
but themselves. Not the least insult was offered to any
person save one Captain Connor, a letter of horses in this
place, not many years since removed from dear Ireland, who
had ript up the lining of his coat and waistcoat under the
arms, and watching his opportunity, had nearly filled them
with tea, but being detected, was handled pretty roughly.
They not only stripped him of his clothes, but gave him a
coat of mud, with a severe bruising into the bargain, and
nothing but their utter aversion to making any disturbance
prevented his being tarred and feathered."

* * * * *

Many interesting details are supplied by the reminiscences of the actors themselves, long afterwards. In the "Recollections of a Bostonian," published in the "Centinel," in 1821-22, the writer says he spent the night but one before the destruction of the tea as one of the guard detached from the new grenadier corps, in company with Gen. Knox, then one of its officers, on board one of the tea ships. He heard John Rowe suggest to the meeting in the Old South, "Who knows how tea will mingle with salt water?" a suggestion received with great applause. He further states that when the answer of the governor was reported to the meeting--

"An Indian yell was heard from the street. Mr. Samuel Adams
cried out that it was a trick of their enemies to disturb
the meeting, and requested the people to keep their places,
but the people rushed out and accompanied the Indians to
the ships. The number of persons disguised as Indians is
variously stated,--none put it lower than sixty, nor higher
than eighty. The destruction was effected by them, and some
young men who volunteered. One of the latter collected the
tea which fell into the shoes of himself and companions, and
put it in a phial and sealed it up,--now in his
possession.... The hall of council is said to have been in
the back room of Edes' printing-office, at the corner of the
alley leading to Brattle Street Church, from Court Street."

In 1827, Joshua Wyeth, of Cincinnati, related the following particulars of the affair to Rev. Timothy Flint. Wyeth, then sixteen years old, was a journeyman blacksmith in the employ of Watson and Gridley. He says: