No More Learning

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? THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
measures, since that supposition would condemn the very
meeting which had issued the paper, and since James Pem-
berton, the secretary of the meeting, was well known as an
active participant in the selection of the committee last
summer. The upshot was that the Society of Friends was
not able to fasten an official stigma on the radical measures
nor to control the actions of all of its members, although it
continued to seek to do so.
The Committee of Sixty-Six at Philadelphia made care-
ful arrangements for the enforcement of the non-importa-
tion regulation. The membership of the committee was
divided into six districts, and one person from each district
was required to attend every morning at the London Coffee
House to inspect the arrival of vessels. 1 All importers after
December 1 were warned to consult with this sub-committee
as to whether new merchandise should be stored, auctioned
off, or re-shipped. Detailed regulations were laid down for
public sales, such as, for instance, that in ordinary cases no
lots worth more than ? 15 sterling nor less than ? 3 sterling
should be offered for sale. 2
Unfortunately no record has been found in the news-
papers or elsewhere of the performance of the committee in
the first two months of the non-importation; but that the
committee was faithful to its trust there can be no doubt.
"There seems to be too general a disposition every where
to adhere strictly to the Resolutions of the Congress," wrote
Deputy Governor Penn on December 31. 8 The Sixty-Six
declared on February 16, 1775, that they had "not met
with the least impediment or obstruction in carrying into
execution any one Resolution of the Continental Congress,"
lPa. Gas. , Dec. 7, 1774; also N. Y. Journ. , Dec. 15.
* Pa. Gas. , Dec. 14, 1774; also Essex Joitrn. , Dec. 28.
1 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, p. 1081.
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? IN THE COMMERCIAL PROVINCES
499
although, like in every community, there were persons who,
placing private interest against public good, had a malig-
nant pleasure in stirring up dissension. 1 "The Non Im-
portation is Strictly adheard to . . . ," wrote Eliza Far-
mar on February 17; "all ships that came in after the
first of Deer, the goods were deliverd to the Commities to
be sold by Auction agreeable to the order of the Congress. " 2
After February 1 the newspapers from time to time
published instances of the return of cargoes without break-
ing bulk. So, with some pipes of Madeira wine that arrived
early in February; and so, also, with a large consignment
of Irish beef which arrived in April. 8 "All Ships with
goods after the 1st of this month are not Sufferd to un-
load," reported Eliza Farmar in the letter noted above;
"several have been obliged to go to the West Indies. "
It would appear likely that the Sixty-Six showed some
laxity in the regulation of prices; and this may have been
done to appease the merchants in order to accomplish the
larger purposes of the non-importation. While the First
Continental Congress was still sitting, it was charged that
pins had advanced to 15s. a pack, pepper to 33. 6d. a pound,
etc. , in anticipation of a suspension of trade. 4 On Novem-
ber 30, the Sixty-Six took official notice of advances made
by "a few persons" and recommended to the public that
the boycott, prescribed by Article ix in such cases, should
be promptly carried out. 5 The provincial convention in
January added the weight of its influence to this timely
1 N. Y. Gas. , Mch. 31, 1775; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, p. 1243. An
abusive reply to the committee's assertion did not deny that the non-
importation had been faithfully observed. Ibid. , voL ii, pp. 238-242.
* Pa. Mag. , vol. xl, pp. 202-203.
1 Pa. Packet, Feb. 13, 1775; Pa. Eve. Post, Apr. 20.
4 Letter in N. Y. Gasetteer, Oct. 6, 1774.
* Pa. Gas. , Nov. 30, 1774; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, p. 1010.
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? THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
advice. 1 However, in March, 1775, it was freely charged
that the drygoods merchants were, without the least oppo-
sition, asking prices for goods representing an increase of
twenty-five to one hundred per cent over former prices;2
and as late as September of the same year Chase declared
publicly in the Second Congress that prices had been ad-
vanced fifty per cent in Philadelphia. 8
The spirit of the enforcement outside of the city was in-
dicated by the resolution of the provincial convention that,
if opposition should be offered to any committee of obser-
vation, the committees of the other counties should render
all the assistance in their power to keep the Association
inviolate. 4
The distinctive feature of the working of the Association
in Pennsylvania was the importance that was given to the
development of home production and to the introduction
of simpler modes of living. Community sentiment was well
fertilized for such an undertaking by the religious teachings
of the Friends as well as by the homely maxims of " Poor
Richard" through a long period of years. The funeral
regulations, recommended by Congress, were well observed,
even such a prominent man as Thomas Lawrence, ex-mayor
of Philadelphia, being buried in accordance with these
directions. 5 The Sixty-Six on November 30 recommended
that no ewe-mutton be purchased or eaten in the country
until May 1, 1775, and none after that day until October 1,
and that thereafter none at all should be used. Notices in
English and German were published throughout the prov-
1 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, p. 1172; also Pa. Journ. , Feb. 1, 1775.
1 "An Englishman," 4 Am. Arch. , vol. ii, p. 239.
1Adams, J. , Works (Adams), vol. ii, p. 447.
4 Pa. Journ. , Feb. 1, 1775; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, pp. 1170.
lPa. Journ. , Jan. 25, 1775.
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? IN THE COMMERCIAL PROVINCES
ince to warn the country people against selling sheep to
butchers contrary to the regulation. 1 Sixty-six butchers of
Philadelphia agreed to be bound by the recommendation of
the committee, and the butchers of Reading signed a similar
agreement. 2 In January the provincial convention resolved
unanimously that after the first of March no sheep under
four years of age should be killed or sold, except in cases
of extreme necessity. 8
The provincial convention made many recommendations
respecting the commodities and wares which the province
seemed best fitted to produce. Raw wool should be utilized
in the making of coatings, flannels, blankets, hosiery and
coarse cloths; and dyes should be obtained from the culti-
vation of madder, woad and other dye stuffs. Of the
farther-reaching proposals were the recommendations that
fulling-mills should be erected, and mills should be estab-
lished for the manufacture of woolcombs and cards, of steel,
nails and wire, of paper, of gunpowder, of copper kettles
and tinplates. As the demand for Pennsylvania-made glass
exceeded the supply, it was recommended that more glass
factories be established. To carry these proposals more
speedily into effect, local societies should be established,
and premiums awarded in the various counties. 4 The Bed-
ford County Committee, among others, acted on these rec-
ommendations a few weeks later, and offered five pounds
to the person who erected the first fulling-mill in the county,
1 Because several city butchers had a stock of sheep on hand, the-
regulation was not to become operative until January I in Philadelphia.
Pa. Gas. , Nov. 30, Dec. 21, 1774; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, p. 1010.
1Ibid. , vol. i, pp. 1050-1051, 1144; also Pa. Gas. , Dec. 21, 1774, and
Pa. Journ. , Jan. 25, 1775.
1 Ibid. , Feb. 1, 1775; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, p. 1171.
* Ibid. , vol. i, pp. 1171-1172; also Pa. Journ. , Feb. 1, 1775.
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? 502 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763. 1776
and four smaller money prizes to the persons making the
best pieces of linen cloth within a given period.
1
The most ambitious venture of this character was the
United Company of Philadelphia for Promoting American
Manufactures, established in March, 1775. The company
was financed through the sale of stock at ten pounds a
share; and the efforts of the company were devoted to the
manufacture of woolen, cotton and linen textiles. Daniel
Roberdeau was chosen first president. At the start, some
mistakes were made, owing to the inexperience of the man-
agers; but soon nearly four hundred spinners were em-
ployed, and at the end of six months the board of managers
announced that the enterprise was not only practicable but
promised to be profitable for the stockholders. More stock
was then sold to enlarge the scope of the company's opera-
tions. 2
In the light of this array of facts, the announcement,
made on February 27, 1775, by the Sixty-Six testifying to
"the uniform spirit and conduct of the people in the faith-
ful execution " of the Association, and a private statement,
made on the same day, that the " City Committee have sub-
dued all opposition to their Measures," bear the stamp of
truth. 8 As President Roberdeau of the United Company of
Philadelphia put it, "The Resolves of the Congress have
been executed with a fidelity hardly known to laws in any
Country . . . " *
Possessing no important commercial connections, it
1 Pa. lourn. , Mch. 8, 1775; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, pp. 1226-1227.
1Ibid. , vol. i, pp. 1256-1257; vol. ii, pp. 140-144; vol. iii, pp. 73, 820-
821; also Pa. Gca. , Feb. 22, Aug. 9, 1775. and Pa. Journ. , Mch. 22,
Sept. 27.
? 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, pp. 1269, 1270.
4Ibid. , vol. ii, p. 141; also Pa. Ledger, Apr. 15, 1775.
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? IN THE COMMERCIAL PROVINCES
503
would appear that the Association went quietly into force
in the Lower Counties on the Delaware. If any decided
opposition developed in Sussex County, where no committee
was yet appointed, no record of it remains. In Newcastle
and Kent, the chief attention was given to carrying out the
popular Pennsylvania regulation regarding the conservation
of sheep and to the elimination of extravagance and dissi-
pation. 1 Letters written to Philadelphia in February de-
clared that " the greatest unanimity subsists in putting into
force the Resolves of the Continental Congress. " *
1 E. g. , vide 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, p. 1022; Niles, Prins. 6. Acts, p. 339.
*Pa. Journ. , Feb. 15, 1775-
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? CHAPTER XIII
FIVE MONTHS OF THE ASSOCIATION IN THE PLANTATION
PROVINCES. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS
[THE problem of enforcing the Continental Association
in the plantation provinces differed in one respect markedly
from that in the commercial provinces. The old antagon-
ism between merchant and planter -- between creditor and
debtor -- that had raised its forbidding head at various
times during the previous years, had now become more
acute. The conditions, imposed by a non-intercourse, in-
creased the difficulties of the planters to repay their obliga-
tions; and the economic dominance of the merchants and
factors made it necessary that their power be broken before
the Association could be successfully administered. The
plantation provinces thus, without exception, resorted to
extreme measures against the merchant-creditors^
The execution of the non-importation and non-consump-
tion regulations in Maryland was somewhat complicated by
the fact that there were more than twenty rivers in the
province navigable by large ships. However, commerce
centered naturally at Baltimore and Annapolis; and the
zeal and watchfulness of the radicals probably reduced
evasions of the Association to a minimum in all parts of
the province.
It was well understood that the merchant and factor class
were likely to be the most pertinacious offenders against the
Association, and therefore the Maryland convention, meet-
ing in December, 1774, resolved that lawyers should prose-
504
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? IN THE PLANTATION PROVINCES 505
cute no suits for violators of the Association, and that, if
the violator were a factor, lawyers should not conduct debt
prosecutions for the store of which he was manager. 1 In-
fluenced in the interval by the example of Virginia, where
the mercantile interests were even more deeply intrenched,
the Maryland convention went to greater lengths in August,
I775- They resolved that no civil actions (with a few
specified exceptions) should be commenced or renewed in
any court of law, save by permission of the committee of
observation of the county in which the debtors and defend-
ants resided. These committees were instructed to permit
the trial of cases where debtors refused to renew their obli-
gations, or to give reasonable security, or to refer their dis-
putes to one or more disinterested parties, or when the
debtors were justly suspected of an intention to leave the
province or to defraud their creditors. '
In the first two months of the non-importation, public
sales of merchandise imported in contravention of the
Association were reported at Annapolis, Chestertown, Pis-
cataway and Calvert County. For example, James Dick
and Anthony Stewart, who were in bad odor for past in-
discretions, were concerned in an importation of Madeira
wines at Annapolis; and the consignment was sold, at their
request, at a profit of ? 1 us. 1d. for the Boston poor. ' In
the months following February 1, 1775, many instances of
effective execution were noted in the newspapers. Thus, to
cite one case that required more than usual skill in its man-
agement, the captain of the brig Sally from Bristol ap-
peared before the Baltimore committee and attested under
oath that his cargo consisted of twenty-four indentured
1 Md. Gaz. , Dec. 15, 1774; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, p. 1032.
'Ibid. , vol. iii, pp. 117-118.
* Md. Gas. , Dec. 15, 1774. For other instances, vide ibid. , Feb. 23,
Men. 2, June 29, 1775.
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? 506 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
servants and one hundred tons of British salt. Clearly the
bringing in of servants did not violate the Association, and
Dr. John Stevenson, the consignee, maintained to the com-
mittee that the salt ought to be considered merely as ballast
and thus not contrary to the Association. But the commit-
tee voted unanimously that the salt should not be landed.
A week later the captain and the consignee were called be-
fore the committee again and charged with having unladen
a portion of the salt in defiance of the decision of the com-
mittee. Stevenson replied that he had understood the reso-
lution to apply to Baltimore County only and that he had
shipped a quantity on board four bay-craft to various parts
of Maryland and Virginia. Inasmuch as there was a color-
able pretext for this interpretation, the committee decided
not to boycott him upon his pledge to give the proceeds of
the sales to the relief of Boston and not to land the remain-
der of the salt anywhere between Nova Scotia and Georgia.
Word was sent out to various parts of the province to stop
the sale of the salt and to punish all persons guiltily in-
volved. In Prince George's County Thomas Bailey was
discovered to be implicated and, after a hearing, declared
to have wilfully violated the Association. 1
The more usual procedure in cases of forbidden impor-
tation was for the captain to take his vessel away at the
command of the local committee without disturbing the
cargo. 2 A little out of the ordinary was the arrival of a
tomb-stone in Charles County, which had been brought
there from a vessel that had stopped in the Potomac. The
committee ordered that the stone should be broken to
pieces. 8 With regard to non-consumption regulations, some
1 Md. Gas. , Mch. 30, June 15, 1775; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. ii, pp.
34, 308.
1 E. g. , vide ibid. , vol. ii, pp. 123, 175-176, 659-660, 1122-1123.
*N. Y. Gas. , July 24, 1775.
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? IN THE PLANTATION PROVINCES 507
difficulty was experienced in preventing the use of tea. In
the instance of one obdurate tea dealer, the committee for
the Upper Part of Frederick County sentenced the offen-
der, one John Parks, to set fire to his tea with head uncov-
ered and then to suffer the rigors of the boycott. Not con-
tent with these measures, the populace derived some satis-
faction from breaking in his door and windows. 1 Usually,
however, offenders acquiesced without trouble.
The supervision of prices received careful attention. In
December, 1774, the Maryland convention noted the wide
range of prices in different parts of the province during the
preceding twelve months, and resolved that all merchants
must observe a uniform rule which the convention an-
nounced: that wholesale prices should not be more than
H2^ per cent, retail prices cash not more than 130 per
cent, and retail prices on credit not more than 150 per
cent, advance on the prime cost. 2 Alexander Ogg, a mer-
chant of Huntington, was found guilty of infringing this
rule by the Calvert County Committee and published as an
enemy to his country. He offered to give store credit for
every farthing he had charged beyond the limit fixed, but
his plea fell on deaf ears. 8
The rigorous observance of the boycott was attested by
the petitions of John Baillie, Patrick Graham and Alexan-
der Ogg to the provincial convention. 4 The first two had
been proscribed for knowingly importing goods forbidden
by the Association, at a public meeting called by the Charles
County committee. Baillie declared that he had suffered
"the extremity of a heavy, though just, sentence" which
14 Am. Arch. , vol. i, p. 1009; also Md. Journ. , Nov. 16, 1774, and
Md. Gas. , Dec. 22.
1 Ibid. , Dec. 15, 1774; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, pp. 1031-1032.
* Ibid. , vol. ii, p. 281; also Md. Gas.